Humans aren’t machines designed to work continuously. Unlike the devices most rely on in their day-to-day work, people can only begin recharge once they unplug.
The opportunity to focus entirely on the life part of work-life balance not only yields benefits for employees but the business as a whole. Yet many find it challenging to step away from their work.
According to Sorbet’s 2022 PTO Report, 55 percent of PTO goes unused by employees in the United States, up from 28 percent in 2019, even as PTO allocation has increased since then.
So, why aren’t people taking full advantage of their available PTO? For many, the desire to take time off is trumped by a lack of guardrails in their workplaces that ensure PTO doesn’t come with any downsides.
In a 2023 Pew Research survey, 49 percent of respondents said they take less time off because they fear falling behind in work, while 43 percent said they would feel bad about co-workers taking on more work in their absence.
It doesn’t need to be that way. But success does require companies to value individual flexibility and provide employees with the resources they need to do their jobs well while they are on the clock.
Take, for example, People Generalist Olivia Fox, who works at Seattle-based DevOps company Esper.
“I feel that if employees are given the opportunity to step away and really unplug, they will come back to work feeling refreshed and excited to get back to what they are working on,” said Fox while discussing the company’s unlimited PTO policy.
Elsewhere, team members at Getty Images work in a flexible hybrid environment, empowering them to adjust responsibilities and setting to what makes sense for their lifestyle.
“With self-managed time and autonomy, our employees understand they have the time they need to take care of themselves and their needs. This includes the ability to take breaks and step away from work,” said VP of Global HR Business Partner and Operations Nicole Underwood.
These people leaders explained how their companies provide opportunities to unplug and mitigate burnout.
Getty Images has served as a preeminent visual content creator and marketplace for over 25 years, providing users access to powerful, current images that connect with their audiences and tell an engaging story.
Describe the guardrails Getty Images has in place around paid time off.
Getty Images has generous time off for our employees across the globe, consistent with our flexible work principles, which prioritize life-first, trust and individual flexibility. When our employees take time off, we highly encourage them to unplug while on holiday, asking them to set up out-of-office reminders. This helps ensure there are point people available to support any incoming requests and build in time and, upon their return, set time aside to catch up on what they missed while they were out of the office.
Our employees can take the time they need, as they need it. This allows them to schedule for their lifestyle, whether enjoying more frequent, shorter periods of time off or engaging in week-plus-long holidays. Where required outside the United States, we follow statutory guidelines. While we do not have a set recommendation for our employees to take, we encourage them to use all their time in the countries with dedicated time off budget, and our U.S. employees to take up to four weeks a year.
How has this culture around PTO impacted employees’ ability to take time off?
We consistently see our employees engage in and take time off. We partner with our leadership to check in on what time off their employees are taking to help them address the topic with any employee who is not. It is important we actively engage in this dialogue and help our employees understand the importance of time off and help them, if needed, find the right time for them to step away.
Since implementing self-managed time off in the United States several years ago, we have seen an uptick in our employees taking longer and more holidays. We no longer see employees exhibit a hoarding mentality when they once might have held onto their time to build a bank “in case they need it.” With self-managed time and autonomy, our employees understand they have the time they need to take care of themselves and their needs. This includes the ability to take breaks and step away from work.
With self-managed time and autonomy, our employees understand they have the time they need to take care of themselves and their needs.”
What other perks and benefits or offerings help support employee well-being and the ability for employees to unplug when needed?
Getty Images has fully transitioned into a hybrid working environment designed to be more flexible, digital and purposeful. Employees can select if they want to work fully remotely, hybrid in the office more or less than 50 percent, or full-time in the office in consultation with their managers, which can be updated annually. We differentiate our benefits to support employee choice, including monthly and annual allowances, along with expectations for how to work with employees across these choices. More than anything, this program allows our employees to work in a way that aligns with their current life situation and balances the business and team needs.
Throughout the year, our global well-being team provides and organizes activities, resources and support around different dimensions of well-being. This includes anything from global walking challenges, bringing in speakers and experts, providing ways to manage stress and organizing in-depth conversations on topics like menopause and mental health.
We also provide robust medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage, striving to be at a premier level as we know that the health and well-being of our employees are key to our success.
Esper is a DevOps SaaS platform that enables developers, organizations and fleets of over 100,000 devices to deliver their software as a service.
Describe the guardrails Esper has in place around paid time off.
Work-life balance is really important at a startup, and especially at Esper. Everyone who works here is really passionate about the work that they are doing, so it can be a little difficult to step away. Because of this, we’ve put in policies to make sure that our employees have ample opportunity to unplug.
We have an unlimited PTO policy with a mandatory two weeks off, wellness days every month where employees can take one day off a month — no questions asked — and 13 paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. We also try to encourage employees to use their PTO by keeping our vacation channel very active on Slack.
How has this culture around PTO impacted employees’ ability to take time off?
With the unlimited PTO policy and the addition of a wellness day once a month, employees feel empowered to take time off whenever they need it. These policies, along with our hybrid-flexible work model, allow employees the autonomy and flexibility to get their work done in a way that works for them as well as the company.
These policies allow employees the autonomy and flexibility to get their work done in a way that works for them as well as the company.”
What other perks and benefits or offerings help support employee well-being and the ability for employees to unplug when needed?
I feel that if employees are given the opportunity to step away and really unplug, they will come back to work feeling refreshed and excited to get back to what they are working on. If employees feel burned out or unable to really get away from work during their PTO or holidays, that experience is not the same. They also get more opportunities to spend time with loved ones and to focus on the activities that they enjoy, which has a positive effect on the mental and emotional well-being of our employees.
