Why Do Almost Half of Americans Leave Paid Time Off on the Table? (2024)

Summer vacation season is here. But if you’re like a surprising number of Americans, you’re probably leaving some paid time off on the table. Among workers whose employer offers paid vacation or leave, 46 percent said they typically took less time off than was offered, a recent Pew survey found. Here’s why:

• They don’t feel they need to take more time off (52 percent).

• They worry about falling behind at work (49 percent).

• They feel bad about having co-workers take on additional work (43 percent).

• They think taking more time off might hurt their chances for career advancement (19 percent).

• They think they might risk losing their job (16 percent).

• Their manager discourages taking time off (12 percent).

Decisions that leaders make about work culture most likely play into several of these reasons, such as a fear of being retaliated against or missing a promotion. And worry about leaving co-workers with extra work could be more intense on a team that is poorly managed or understaffed.

At the same time, the most popular reason cited for not taking all the available paid time off is that workers don’t feel they need to.

And many people keep working when they are technically “off.” Fifty-five percent of respondents said they checked work emails and messages outside work hours “extremely often,” “often” or “sometimes.”

Employees do seem to value having paid time off available. In the Pew survey, 89 percent of all workers said it was “extremely” or “very” important that their job provide paid time off for vacations, doctor appointments and minor illnesses, with more people selecting the “extremely important” category than for employer-sponsored health insurance or an employer-sponsored retirement program.

DealBook wants to hear from you: Do you use your vacation time? Do you encourage your employees to use their vacation time? Why or why not? Let us know at dealbook@nytimes.com.

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