It’s April. Have You Scheduled Your PTO Yet?

Anyone remember those PSAs that came on right before the nightly news that said “It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your child is?” I was telling my 18-year old about this and he was very confused as to why parents would need to be reminded to check on their kids. Ahhh the 80s!

That really has nothing to do with this post other than I thought of it when I wrote the title. Anyway…

Go City surveyed full-time workers in the US and found just 45% of employees used all of their paid time off (PTO) in 2022. And according to our 2021 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report, only 43% of nonprofit communicators regularly take all of the PTO that they are entitled to each year.

Oddly enough though, 86% of Americans wish they had more PTO.

But, but…you aren’t using the time off you do have!

Why?!?

Let’s remind ourselves of the benefits of taking time off:

1. Vacations Can Cut Your Risk for Heart Attack
2. Vacations Boost Your Energy Reserves
3. Vacations Can Help Get You a Raise
4. Vacation Adventures Give You a Natural High
5. Vacations Make You Happier With Your Entire Life
6. Vacations Can Help the Economy
7. Vacations Help Keep Your Mind Calm
8. Vacation Happiness Is Contagious
9. Vacation May Help You Live a Longer, Healthier Life
10. Vacations Force You to Improve Your Workflow
11. Vacations Can Make You a Better Boss

Plus the Harvard Business Review says employees who took 11+ vacation days were over 30% more likely to receive a raise than those who took fewer days. And for each 10 vacation hours an employee used, their performance review scores raised 8% on average.

Not too shabby, right?

It’s time to schedule some time off, friends! And spare me the excuses like:

1. You feel guilty. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using your PTO. They’re yours.
2. You’re saving them “just in case.” Unless you know you have events coming up, schedule out any unused days now.
3. There’s too much work. You either need better time management skills or you need to have a talk with your boss about workload and boundaries.
4. It’s too expensive. Schedule a staycation, visit family, or one of these other inexpensive ideas.

We just opened our 2023 Summer Vacation Challenge in the Community! (Not a member yet? You’ll need a free membership to access. Just click the community invite in your welcome email to access. Already a member? Search “community” on your student dashboard to find the join link)