PTO exists to help employees recharge by taking a break, but it often has the opposite effect — increasing stress and making employees feel trapped by their jobs. Many factors conspire to cause these issues, such as unreasonable expectations of company leaders, pressure from colleagues, anxiety about falling behind or missing opportunities, and a lack of flexibility in how employees take time off.

HR teams are responsible for overturning this destructive cultural status quo as quickly as possible. Employees should never feel like taking vacation days is an unearned privilege. Time off is critical to finding a healthy work-life balance, and when employees genuinely don’t want to leave the office, the value of their hard-earned PTO shouldn’t go to waste.

Don’t Penalize Employees for Taking Time Off

Over the past several years, employee burnout has been surging. According to a recent Hartford study, three-fifths of American workers report feeling burned out at work. Gallup reports that 41% of employees say they experienced a lot of stress the previous day at work, which is higher than the pre-pandemic average.

A recent Harris survey found that 81% of American workers have an increasingly strong urge to take time off when work becomes stressful. However, this isn’t reflected in their behavior — 78% of employees don’t use all the PTO offered by their employers, even though 75% wish they could. There are several ways HR teams can address these problems. First, they must empower workers to take the PTO they’ve earned when needed. Second, they must offer flexibility, which means avoiding policies like “use it or lose it” restrictions and providing alternatives when employees can’t use all their PTO.

Finally, HR teams must focus on developing a more positive and sustainable culture around PTO. It’s time to address the unhealthy behavioral norms that have led to the explosion of burnout at American workplaces and the reluctance to disconnect.

Building a Healthier PTO Culture

While PTO policies significantly impact how employees take time off, workplace culture plays a major role. For example, 63% of employees say the pressure to meet deadlines and maintain productivity prevents them from taking time off, while nearly half say they get nervous when asking for time off. Nearly two-thirds of employees say finding a balance between work and their personal lives is challenging, while over three-quarters wish their companies placed a stronger emphasis on time off.

Most employees have a hard time stepping away from work when they’re on PTO. Sixty percent of employees say they struggle to fully disconnect from work when they’re away, so HR teams should urge managers to give employees the space they need to relax. Employees’ colleagues can be a source of anxiety as well — Pew reports that people “feel badly about co-workers taking on additional work” when they’re gone. HR teams can encourage employees to support one another, expecting that doing so will be reciprocated when the time comes.

Give Employees the Flexibility They Need

One reason employees are stressed about PTO is their lack of options for taking advantage of it. According to our research, three-quarters of employees say they have taken an “unneeded” vacation to avoid losing their accrued PTO.

HR teams can address all these issues simultaneously with a more innovative approach to PTO. For example, they can offer convertible PTO that allows employees to reallocate the value of their time off toward other financial priorities such as retirement contributions or health savings accounts. Eighty-three percent of employees say they would be interested in a benefit like this, giving them greater flexibility and easing the cultural pressure associated with taking time off.

HR teams must change the culture around PTO. Far too many employees are dealing with anxiety and stress around a benefit that should improve their work-life balance, and this has a corrosive effect on performance, well-being and company culture. HR teams that build a healthier PTO culture will ensure that their employees get the full value of their benefits instead of worrying about how to use them.