Burnout Prevention: Why Employees Skip PTO and How to Fix It

You gave your team 15 PTO days. At year end, most of them used 8. Some used 5. Your top performer used 3.

This isn't a sign of dedication. It's a warning sign.

Employees who don't take time off burn out. And burnout doesn't just hurt them, it hurts your entire team through decreased productivity, increased errors, and eventual turnover.

Here's why employees skip PTO and what you can actually do about it.

The Scope of the Problem

The numbers are stark:

55% of Americans don't use all their PTO
768 million vacation days went unused in 2023
Burnout costs employers an estimated $125-190 billion in healthcare spending annually
23% of employees report feeling burned out "very often" or "always"

This isn't just an American problem. Globally, overwork culture is pushing employees to skip the rest they're entitled to.

Why Employees Don't Take PTO

1. Fear of Falling Behind

The most common reason: "I'll come back to a mountain of work."

Employees fear that taking vacation just delays their stress. They imagine returning to 500 emails, missed deadlines, and colleagues who resent covering for them.

The reality: This fear is often accurate because companies don't have good coverage systems. The solution isn't "don't take vacation," it's "build better handoff processes."

2. Guilt and Peer Pressure

"Nobody else takes time off, so I can't either."

When the boss works through vacation and top performers never disconnect, it creates silent pressure. Even if you say "take your PTO," the culture says otherwise.

The reality: This is a leadership problem. If leaders don't model healthy time off, no policy will fix it.

3. Job Insecurity

"What if they realize they don't need me?"

Employees worry that being away will reveal they're not essential, or that someone else will do their job better.

The reality: This fear often indicates deeper trust issues or a toxic environment. Healthy workplaces don't punish people for taking earned benefits.

4. Workload Doesn't Allow It

"I literally cannot step away right now."

Sometimes the workload genuinely doesn't permit time off. Understaffed teams, aggressive deadlines, and "always-on" roles make vacation feel impossible.

The reality: If your team can never take time off, you have a staffing or planning problem, not a PTO problem.

5. No One Asked Them To

"I just... forgot."

Some employees simply don't think about it. They're heads-down on work, and unless someone prompts them, vacation doesn't cross their mind.

The reality: Proactive reminders help. "I noticed you haven't taken PTO in 4 months, everything okay?"

6. Saving Days "Just in Case"

"What if I need them later for something important?"

Employees hoard PTO for hypothetical future emergencies, never actually using it.

The reality: Reasonable carryover limits and clear communication about how PTO works can address this.

The Real Cost of Unused PTO

For Employees

Physical health:

Increased risk of heart disease
Weakened immune system
Chronic fatigue
Sleep disorders

Mental health:

Higher rates of anxiety and depression
Decreased job satisfaction
Emotional exhaustion
Reduced creativity

Relationships:

Strain on family and friendships
Missing important life moments
Social isolation

For Companies

Productivity:

Burned-out employees are 63% more likely to take a sick day
Exhausted workers make more mistakes
Creativity and problem-solving decline

Retention:

Burned-out employees are 2.6x more likely to actively seek new jobs
Turnover costs 50-200% of annual salary to replace

Culture:

Burnout spreads through teams
Resentment builds between those who take PTO and those who don't
"Always-on" culture becomes self-reinforcing

Financial:

Accrued PTO is a liability on your books
Some states require payout of unused PTO
Healthcare costs increase for stressed employees

How to Actually Fix It

1. Leaders Must Model the Behavior

This is non-negotiable. If founders and managers don't take visible time off, employees won't either.

What to do:

Take your full PTO allocation
Actually disconnect (no Slack, no email)
Talk about your vacation when you return
Never praise "always-on" behavior

What to say: "I'm taking next week off. Sarah is covering urgent issues. I won't be checking messages."

2. Create Real Coverage Systems

Fear of returning to chaos is legitimate. Address it with actual systems:

Coverage buddies: Pair employees so each has a designated backup. The backup handles truly urgent issues, not every request.

Documentation habits: Before any PTO, employees should document project status and pending items. Make this part of your request process.

Realistic expectations: Be clear that non-urgent work can wait. Not everything needs immediate response.

3. Set Minimum Usage Expectations

Flip the script. Instead of tracking maximums, track minimums.

Approaches:

"We expect everyone to take at least 10 days per year"
Quarterly reminders for low users
Manager conversations when someone is significantly under-using

4. Send Proactive Reminders

Don't wait for employees to request time off. Prompt them.

Automated reminders:

"You have 12 unused PTO days. Consider scheduling time off."
"Q4 is coming - have you planned any end-of-year time off?"

Manager check-ins:

Include PTO usage in 1:1s
Ask "When's your next planned break?"
Flag when top performers haven't taken time off

5. Make Requesting Easy

Every friction point reduces usage. Simplify the process:

Bad: Email your manager, CC HR, fill out a form, wait for approval Good: Request in app, manager approves with one click, calendar updates automatically

The easier it is to request PTO, the more people will do it.

6. Eliminate Guilt Language

Watch for subtle cues that create guilt:

Avoid:

"Must be nice to take a vacation"
Sighing when approving requests
"I guess we'll manage without you"
Contacting people during their PTO

Instead:

"Have a great trip!"
"We've got it covered, don't worry"
Actually respecting their time off

7. Consider Use-It-or-Lose-It (Carefully)

Controversial, but effective: unused PTO expires.

Pros:

Forces employees to use time off
Reduces liability
Prevents end-of-year chaos

Cons:

Illegal in some states (CA, CO, MT, others)
Can feel punitive
May cause December rush

Alternative: Generous carryover cap (5-7 days) with clear deadline.

8. Offer Company-Wide Breaks

Remove individual guilt by closing the company:

Options:

Week between Christmas and New Year
Summer Fridays
Mental health days (announced day off for everyone)
Quarterly "recharge days"

When everyone is off, no one feels guilty.

Building a Long-Term Culture Shift

Measure and Track

What gets measured gets managed:

Average PTO usage per employee
Employees with less than X days used by Q3
Distribution of usage (is it just a few people, or everyone?)

Talk About It

Make PTO a regular conversation topic:

Celebrate when people take vacation
Share what people did (if they want to)
Include in team updates: "Congrats to Mike on his first full week off in 6 months"

Connect to Values

If you value employee wellbeing, prove it:

Include PTO expectations in job descriptions
Discuss during onboarding
Make it part of performance conversations

Be Patient

Culture change takes time. One year of encouraging PTO won't undo years of burnout culture. Stay consistent and it will shift.

Warning Signs to Watch For

Individual Warning Signs

No PTO requests in 3+ months
Canceling planned time off
Always available, even on weekends
Declining quality of work
Increased irritability

Team Warning Signs

Overall low PTO usage across the team
Concentration of PTO among a few people
Year-end scramble to use days
Employees bragging about not taking vacation

Key Takeaways

Unused PTO is a warning sign, not a badge of honor
Leadership must model healthy time-off behavior
Fear of falling behind is often legitimate - fix the coverage problem
Make it easy to request and take time off
Measure and discuss PTO usage regularly
Culture change takes time but it's worth it

Start Tracking PTO Usage Today

The first step to improving PTO culture is knowing where you stand. Symple Team shows you exactly who's taking time off, who isn't, and helps you spot burnout risk before it becomes a crisis.

Try Symple Team free - see your team's PTO patterns at a glance.