91% of U.S. employees say their workload prevents them from taking time off

• The U.S. notoriously has one of the worst time-off policies among first-world countries. 
• European workers take almost double the number of days American workers take off from work. 
• While Europeans reported having an average of 106 paid days off for maternity leave, Americans reported having just 42 days. 

With employee’s wellbeing offerings shifting due to the ever-evolving world of work, we could soon see a shift in the amount of time off employees receive.   

Going on vacation and relaxing is very necessary for workers, but deadlines and meetings stand between employees and their ability to put PTO to good use. For many workers, this has reigned even truer during the pandemic, as taking time off has been more challenging with travel restrictions and increased workloads.  

For businesses, encouraging healthy time-off practices isn’t just about the benefits it can have on teams and their mental health.  

Studies also show that taking time away from work can make workers even more productive by lowering stress and boosting cognitive function.  

Skynova surveyed nearly 1,000 workers across the United States and Europe to find out how many vacation days they get each year, the current state of PTO, how sick time factors into their ability to go on vacation, and the impact of time off on workplace happiness. 

Here are the key study highlights:  

1. European workers take almost double the number of days American workers take off from work. 
2. 91% of employees in the U.S. say their workload has prevented them from taking time off from work—40% of U.S. employees say their current workload often prevents them from taking vacation time and personal days, and 29% often avoid taking sick days.  
3. Both U.S. and European employees report taking an average of 8 to 9 sick days per year, but 63% of employees in Europe don’t have a limit on sick days while 85% of employees in the U.S. do. 
4. European working moms who had children while employed reported around three months of paid maternity leave, compared to American working moms who reported just over one month paid leave on average. 

Time off in America vs. Europe 

The U.S. notoriously has one of the worst time-off policies among first-world countries.  

Among those surveyed, Americans reported taking 14 days off per year, on average, compared to 24 days for Europeans. But while Europeans reported taking off 10 more days each year, 43% also said they had to put in their time-off requests more than a week in advance, compared to just 23% of Americans having to do so.  

Despite taking 10 fewer days off on average, 70% of U.S. employees said they felt they got enough time off from work, compared to just 16% who said they weren’t getting enough time away.  

In contrast, 53% of Europeans were content with the amount of time they were getting off from work, while 28% said it wasn’t enough. 

Americans (70%) were the most likely to report getting enough time off during the year, but received less time off on average (14 days) than those from Spain (22), the United Kingdom (24), Germany (24), and France (28). 

Reasons why workers don’t take time off 

Among Americans, 41% said their workloads often prevent them from taking personal days (41%), vacation days (40%), and sick days (29%).  

Less than 1 in 10 said their workloads never come between them and personal days off from work, and fewer than 1 in 5 said the same about taking sick days.  

In contrast, a quarter of Europeans surveyed said they never feel pressured by their workloads into not taking personal days (24%) or vacation time (25%), and more than a third said their calendars and inboxes never stopped them from calling in sick (36%). 

Sick time vs. vacation time 

Europeans and Americans both indicated having between eight and nine sick days off per year, though Americans (81%) were more likely than Europeans (64%) to report being given sick days in addition to their vacation time. 

Just 15% of Americans said there was no limit to the number of sick days they were allowed to take compared to 63% of European employees.

During the pandemic, Americans were more likely to acknowledge that their employees had been more accommodating in terms of taking time off.  

Compared to just 44% of Europeans, 79% of Americans said their employers offered paid time off during the pandemic, and another 82% said their jobs were more relaxed about time off during COVID-19.  

Paid parental leave: Europe vs. America 

Fewer American moms felt supported to take maternity leave compared to European moms. 

In the U.S., more than 30% of respondents felt not at all or only a little supported through their maternity or paternity leaves at work. 

Among Europeans surveyed, 63% said that their employer offers both paid paternity and maternity leave.  

Just 45% of Americans surveyed said their companies offered paid maternity leave, while only 22% said they had access to paid paternity leave. One in 10 Americans said they had no access to either paid maternity or paternity leave. 

Among Americans lucky enough to have access to paid time off, the number of days off (either paid or unpaid) was significantly lower compared to European workers.   

While Europeans reported having an average of 106 paid days off for maternity leave, Americans reported having just 42 days. For those with unpaid leave, Europeans averaged 122 days off, while Americans averaged 33.  

Europeans with access to paid paternity leave had more than twice as many days off (62) as Americans with paid paternity leave (29).