The Vacation Gap: Why Workers Aren't Using Their PTO

How Much Paid Time Off Goes Unused and Why

• Workers have an average of 18 paid vacation days per year, but take only 12, leaving 6 days unused each year.

• 47% of employees can roll over unused PTO days, while 13% just lose them.

• Saving days "just in case" is the top reason why workers aren't taking all their vacation days (44%), followed by financial concerns (21%) and not having anyone to cover for them at work (20%).

• About 1 in 6 workers (15%) say feeling guilty about being away from work keeps them from taking time off.

• Medical and health care workers are most likely to skip PTO due to staffing shortages (26%), while educators are most likely to do so out of guilt (23%).

• 35% of employees have lied about why they were taking time off.

• Just 15% of respondents have unlimited PTO.

How Workplace Vibes Shape Vacation Habits

• Most workers fall into one of two camps: 49% say PTO is openly encouraged, and 41% say it's silently accepted, but not encouraged or even discussed.

• The hospitality industry has the most negative PTO culture, ranking highest for quietly discouraging time off and lowest for openly encouraging it.

• 44% of workers say they take less PTO than their manager, even though 78% say their managers model time off.

• While most employees have experienced no negative outcomes after taking PTO, 18% have heard passive-aggressive comments, and 13% say they were left out of projects or decisions.

What Unused PTO Says About Your Mental State

• Returning to chaos is the top fear employees have about taking time off (45%), followed by falling behind (44%).

• Nearly half of burned-out employees (46%) worry about falling behind, compared to about one-third of those who are not burned out (32%).

• More than 1 in 4 burned-out workers (28%) are thinking about quitting.

• Burned-out employees are more than twice as likely to have postponed or canceled a vacation due to work pressures (19% vs 8%).

Methodology

This survey polled 1,005 U.S. adults working full-time or part-time to understand how employees use paid time off, how workplace culture affects vacation habits, and how unused PTO relates to guilt, burnout, and intent to quit. The average respondent age was 41. The sample included 50% men, 49% women, and 1% nonbinary respondents. Generationally, 5% were baby boomers, 29% were Gen X, 56% were millennials, and 10% were Gen Z. Industry-level analysis included only industries with at least 25 respondents to ensure meaningful comparisons. Data was collected in December 2025.

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Fair Use Statement

This content is provided for informational and noncommercial use only. If you reference or share these findings, please include attribution and a link to Clarify Capital.