How to Get Your Team to (Actually) Take Their Vacation Days

Americans are taking increasingly less time off from work. In 2015, 55% didn’t use all of their vacation days. In 2021, that number jumped to 73% .?

But time off has become more critical than ever! Remote work is growing , alongside concerns around the resulting need to be “always-on” and available to work. Employees’ biggest concerns were falling behind , disappointing the team, or coworkers pressuring them to work while away. Long term, this inability to detach from work can lead to fatigue, performance decline, burnout, and turnover.

According to Ashley Whillans , behavioral psychologist, Harvard Business School assistant professor, and author, vacations are a critical part of recovering from today’s “always-on” work culture. We return to the office working harder , performing better, and with greater health, stamina, and enthusiasm, but only by encouraging everyone to make the most of their PTO can we reap those benefits. Here’s how:

Show them how it can (and should) be done

To get employees to make the most of their vacation days, leaders need to take PTO themselves. When leaders treat taking time off as a “do as we say, not as we do” policy, employees may not believe that we really support it. Not only should leaders take vacations, we should also express our excitement about them with our teams so they can be free to feel the same way about theirs.?

Unplugging is essential. Even when employees understand the benefits of time off, they still feel reluctant to fully unplug, so we need to show them we take unplugging seriously. When I take PTO, I block off the time on my calendar with a playful warning — “Don’t bug me!” — and leave my Slack status as away (???). When leaders establish firm boundaries around vacation time, others trust they can treat theirs the same.?

Have their backs?

Have protocols in place so employees can take PTO without coming back to mountains of work. A Cornerstone survey found that people who avoided extended time away mostly feared that catching up on those mountains would leave them more stressed than before their vacation. With the rest of the team willing to step up in support of undisturbed PTO, everyone can feel better about their time away.

Establish the parameters for who covers who before anyone goes anywhere. Set up a meeting with employees about their PTO and make sure all the details of their day-to-day tasks are covered. Tell them upfront what they might miss while away and give them a chance to provide input. Letting people feel heard, says Whillans, will “increase people’s likelihood to truly disconnect during their vacations.”

Time is money, so frame it that way

Vacation days are more than time spent away from work — they’re part of a company compensation package. For someone making $35,000, for example, Monster estimates three weeks of vacation time to add an equivalent of over $2000 to their annual pay . Ensure employees see the value of vacation days and how not using them leaves that income unclaimed.??

Remind people that their time is money. A 10-minute taxi trip is more valuable than public transportation if it cuts out a two-hour bus trip. Consider how much we could make in two hours of work. Research shows that a time-centric mindset leads to better social connections, healthier relationships, and greater job satisfaction. When we start valuing time over money, says Whillans , we feel happier.?

Leaders and employees benefit when everyone takes vacations, but only if they can truly disconnect. Be clear about the importance of PTO and how much the company values it, from top to bottom. The better people feel about taking time off, the more likely they are to come back to work revived and ready to give back to the company that supports them.

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Tom Popomaronis is Executive Vice President of Innovation at Massive Alliance, a global executive branding agency. Tom co-founded Massive's?Executive Leadership Branding ?program – which transforms world-class executives into contributing authors at leading publications.

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