Thanks to COVID-19, issues like depression, obesity and burnout are on the rise, making it imperative for employees to utilize time off to rest and recharge.
Employers are recognizing the importance of supporting their employees’
While paid vacation is offered by 98% of employers, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, organizations should rethink their policies and incentivize employees to take the time off.
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“A lot of organizations are rethinking work versus leisure and how
Goldsmith notes new PTO trends now include incentivizing employees to take vacation days, and swapping vacation time for student loan payments. Goldsmith discussed these tactics and more ways employers can rethink PTO with Employee Benefit News.
Why are incentives an important part of revamping PTO policies?
Incentives aren’t new, but are more urgent because during the pandemic, a lot of people, for various reasons, have not taken their vacation. You see all kinds of incentive arrangements: extra cash, enhanced stay-at-home vacations.
So why are companies doing this now? Well they have this growing liability on their balance sheet for unused vacation. But another driver is increases in mental health conditions in the workforce, especially depression and anxiety. And so, that influences productivity. What a lot of employers realize is that we need to help people get out of that stressful situation for a while, decompress and enjoy life. In doing so, they're better prepared to work.
Why do employers need to reorganize their PTO policies and actively encourage employees to take the time off?
Employers believe it's important for employees to take time off, so that they are productive. And without disconnecting from work, people not only lose their productivity, but they also generate other kinds of costs for the organization with sick leave, disability leave or even violence in the workplace. The pandemic has made so many things go digital and we're seeing a lot of innovation take place right now to help people with the stressful issues that they deal with.
What trends are we going to see from employers regarding PTO?
Over the next five or six years, it's going to be an approach to leave differentiation. We're going to see organizations compete on the basis of paid leave arrangements.
Leave differentiation by cost resonates better with individuals than one big PTO bank because [employees] are emotionally connected to something like paid parental leave. It shows them the employers are emotionally connected and they share their beliefs.
