Whether American workers are “quiet vacationing” or taking time off loudly, it seems they’re still not stepping away from work enough.
New data from Indeed shows that paid time off is increasingly dangled as a benefit in job postings. From January 2020 to May 2024, mentions of it more than doubled — from 16% to 34%, a July 25 report said.
Unspecified PTO leads the mentions at 32% of all postings, but Indeed found that job postings mentioning designated sick leave doubled. Although for context, the share is still less than 3% of posts.
As a return-to-office mandate becomes the policy du jour, another Indeed finding worth noting: Industries that require more in-office or in-person time had a higher share of job postings touting PTO as a benefit. Some key job sectors that demonstrated this phenomenon:
- 38% of construction jobs
- 39% of production and manufacturing jobs
- 40% of installation and maintenance jobs
- 41% of legal industry jobs
- 54% of dental industry jobs
One caveat from Indeed researchers is that “PTO” may be a blanket term for all kinds of leave, from time off for new parents to sick leave.
Another caveat is that just because an employer doesn’t mention PTO in its job description doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer it, Indeed said.
But as much as employers try to entice potential hires with PTO, it appears that workers still aren’t taking advantage of that benefit.
The unused vacation day problem
An estimated 62% of Americans don’t use all of their PTO, according to a July 24 report from fintech company Sorbet, which analyzes the financial value of unused PTO. Not only are the majority of workers in the U.S. not maximizing their time off, but 5.5% of workers didn’t take any time off at all in 2023.
In particular, Generation Z workers aren’t taking vacation days and report that it’s more difficult to take time off: Talent aged 21 to 34 years old take, on average, one fewer week of vacation time than their peers over 55 years old, the report said.
Women are less inclined to take PTO than men, the report found, and feel more comfortable using sick days than vacation days.
While leaders at Sorbet suggest that employers consider offering unused PTO as a cash benefit, employers can also consider ways to encourage a work culture that’s more flexible; for example, leaders can assuage worker fears that they are “unprofessional” or take their work less seriously when they do take time off.
