Secret Vacations Are on the Rise as Workers Fear Asking for Paid Time Off

Despite generous PTO policies, most U.S. workers don't take all their time off due in-part to increasing pressure and unclear procedures.

New data released from the Harris Poll shows how most workers in the United States do not use all their paid time off (PTO).

The survey found that 78% of U.S. employees do not take their fully allotted PTO, with workers citing issues including guilt, pressure to meet deadlines, and lack of clear pre-PTO procedures — which prevent them from fully disconnecting from work.

According to The Harris Poll, “The top barriers preventing workers from taking more time off are ‘pressure to always be available and responsive to demands’ (31%) and ‘heavy workload’ (30%).”

The survey also found that 83% of Americans are “satisfied with their company’s paid time off/vacation policy,” and “60% are given more than 10 paid days off per year.”

Moreover, many companies are also transitioning to unlimited PTO policies, but many employees remain hesitant to utilize such benefits.

63% of American workers feel pressured to stay productive and meet deadlines — which directly impedes their ability to take time off.

This could also be influencing the high number of workers’ taking “secret” vacations. A recent survey, commissioned by Mews and conducted by OnePoll, shows that nearly one third of remote workers admit to working during their vacations — without informing their employers. The survey also found that 29% of the 2,000 employed Americans surveyed have secretly worked during their vacations.

The Harris Poll reports that “Millennials’ fear of taking time off has made them culprits of out of office workarounds, including mouse moves and playing hooky.” Notably, 37% of millennial works have taken time off without communicating it to their manager/employer and 38% have move their mouse “to maintain online status on company’s messaging system.”

The percentages of “mouse movers” by other generations are:

30% Gen Z
29% Gen X
20% Boomers

The percentages of taking time off without communicating it to a manager/employer are:

24% Gen Z
24% Gen X
18% Boomers

The perception of unlimited PTO has also raised skepticism. 7% of U.S. workers say they now have access to unlimited PTO. However, over half of employed Americans say unlimited PTO means more than 20 days.

Percentage of what workers think unlimited PTO means?

0-5 days – 7%
6-10 days – 13%
11-15 days – 15%
16-20 days – 15%
21-25 days – 10%
26-30 days – 9%
More than 30 days – 32%

It’s worth noting that of those who said unlimited PTO means more than 30 days, 50% were Boomers.

With the rise in secret vacations, and with a high percentage of younger employees afraid to ask for PTO, a strategic priority should be placed on creating a supportive PTO culture. This can likely be accomplished through explicitly designed policies, structured procedures, and supportive managers.