Taking time off of work is something that is meant to be enjoyed and looked forward to. It’s meant for people to rest, recover, rejuvenate, and other words that start with “re.” Well, one poll found that millennials tend to feel one other “re” word that boomers don’t: regret. A recent survey by YouGov on behalf of Halfday, the iced tea brand, found that 58% of workers aged 29 to 44 felt some form of guilt for taking paid time off (PTO), while only 40% of workers aged 55 and older did.
The online survey of 3,767 adults showed quite the divide among generations regarding taking time away from the office. Along with the data collected from millennials and baby boomers, 55% of Gen Z said they felt some level of guilt about taking time off for personal wellbeing, followed by 48% of Gen X. It should be noted that the question regarding PTO was aimed at vacations and excluded time away from work to go to doctor’s appointments, jury duty, or sick leave.
@alex.careerqueen I always used to be scared that my manager would say no when I requested time off🫢 but then I realized that they don’t really care if you give them a heads up! #pto #careertok #techtok #confidence #confidencetips
"Millennials feel guilty about taking PTO because they entered the workforce in a unique time, when technology really started to boom,” said Mike Lombardo, co-founder of Halfday, in an interview with Newsweek. “There is this expectation of always being available.”
Lombardo isn’t wrong. AnMIT Sloan Review article is showing that through the advent of emails and text messaging, whether it’d be through smartphones or apps like Slack, there is a growing notion and expectation that workers are always “on” and available to communicate among millennials and Gen Z. One quick email or text back wouldn’t hurt right? Well, it turns out that once one text or email is sent during PTO, the floodgates tend to open.
Baby Boomers who are still in the workforce have spent most of their careers without such technology interfering with their work-life balance. There’s less pressure and it’s simpler for them to ignore and shut down their work computer or leave an email unanswered until Monday at 9:00 A.M. It is also likely that workers in that age range are further up the corporate ladder, have more authority, and have less people in charge of them to answer to.
Another issue affecting this survey is the increasing prevalence of unlimited PTO in the workplace. To some workers, unlimited PTO is seen as a sham since rather than having a confirmed number of days as “earned” PTO that cannot be put into question, it relies on whether or not a worker “feels” like they have earned time off and needing to take time off at their job’s convenience rather than theirs. This has led some millennial workers to take “quiet vacationing” workarounds to give themselves some relaxation time while on the clock rather than to ask for PTO.
While other countries have laws that require workers to take mandatory vacation time each year, the United States is not among them. Time, effort, and generations coming together under one work culture will be necessary to bring about a healthy change for employees.
