Take Your PTO

Let me remind you that PTO stands for paid time off, but it also stands for “preparing others”.

I remember when I had unlimited PTO, I didn’t feel validated or encouraged to take it. Sounds crazy, right? According to a study published by Forbes, the average American worker receives 11 days of paid vacation per year. However, only 4% of companies offer unlimited PTO in the U.S. On average, employees with unlimited PTO only take ten days off. The average American takes 17 PTO days a year. 

These statistics should be frightening, given that there are 365 days in the year. If you work an average of 5 days per week, you’d work for 260 days. 

Growing up, I saw my immigrant parents, like many of us first-generation graduates, push through and refuse to believe in rest days. When you grow up around this type of structure, you feel the need to act the same way. Why? Because it’s all you know. However, I am here to remind you to take the PTO. You are not any less worthy of taking PTO. You are not any less productive for taking PTO. In fact, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t take your PTO as this will lead you down a faster route to burnout. According to a research blog published by Eptura, failure to use PTO negatively impacts employee well-being.  

There’s so much beauty to see in the world. It’s important to rest and take mental health days. The beauty of PTO is that you can use the days however you please. Do you need a breather? Take a PTO day for your mental health. Want a change of scenery? Tired of the cold or the heat? Travel somewhere you can explore with a different climate. If we let them, companies will drive us into the ground, but to them, we’re disposable. It doesn’t matter if you have two years or twenty years working for them. If they need to let you go, they will. We’ve seen this more prevalent in the past couple of months, but that’s another topic.

All in all, let this be your reminder to take your PTO. PTO benefits employees and companies, and here’s why: 

PTO is directly linked to mental health. According to a study done by Club Mental, data shows that for every additional ten days off, depression decreases by 29%. Lastly, a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, found that people are more creative two weeks post-vacation than before taking time off. Studies show creativity is a clear benefit for an employer, no matter the industry.

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I hope this article served its purpose to remind you to take your PTO! If you're still afraid, start having discussions with your manager and team about how this could benefit the group as a whole. It is worth it for your mental health.