Only 30% of workers say their employer respects holiday PTO

With the holiday season right around the corner, it's hard to imagine that there are employees who may not be looking forward to celebrating. But for some, a break from work feels out of reach, even if they're off the clock. 

According to a recent survey conducted by financial advice platform FinanceBuzz, only one-third of workers said their employer respects their time off, resulting in more than 40% of Americans reporting they'll have trouble enjoying time with friends or family this holiday season because of work stress.

"While there's been a lot of great conversations about work-life balance and the importance of self-care with regard to work, our findings show there's still a huge need for employers to encourage healthy time off," says Chris Lewis, director of digital PR at FinanceBuzz. "Less than half of employees felt like their employer encouraged them to take time off during the holidays. This puts increased pressure, and often increased guilt, on employees considering time off requests." 

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Sixty percent of workers said they plan on checking email or other work-related messages during the holidays in 2022, 26% because they feel pressure from their employer to work during the holidays and 16% because they are expected to. This kind of unhealthy work-life relationship may be why only 30% of respondents said they're able to set boundaries through the holidays. 

On average, Americans plan to take six days off this season, according to the survey, but 63% of workers plan to take less than one week off, and 10% are not anticipating a single day off from work during the holiday season. But even with managers infringing on their workforce's PTO, there are employees who are reclaiming control over when they do and don't want to work. 

For example, 34% of respondents said they don't plan on checking email at all during the holidays. Sixty-one percent  of Americans said they wouldn't mind working through the holidays — if they're getting increased pay.

But even with employee initiatives on the rise, there is still work left to be done by managers, too, according to Lewis. Whether it's setting clear expectations about time off — which should include how much should they take, how often they should check in, what happens in emergencies, and who to contact for questions — or simply asking employees what works for them, there are several avenues for employers looking to be more conscientious this holiday season.

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"Some employees need a clean break — no email, no messages and total radio silence," Lewis says. "While others can't enjoy their time off without the freedom to check in and make sure things are OK with work. Don't shame people if you see them on Slack or if they answer a quick email — many employees feel better during their time off when they actually can check in at their own convenience."

Managers should also avoid assigning large amounts of work or big projects as the holidays approach to avoid inadvertently forcing employees to take less time off. And as for companies that track PTO, managers should be using November and December as a time to check how much time off their employees have used and encourage them to take it if they have a lot left. 

"In 2022, we saw both the 'Great Resignation' and large-scale layoffs, so it makes sense why many people are having difficulty navigating time off expectations during the holidays," Lewis says. "[But] for employees to be their best at work, they also need to take care of themselves outside of work, and though our results don't show we're quite there yet, there's definitely positive movement in that direction.