Not Much of a Holiday for Pressured Workers

Paid time off (PTO) appears to be losing its meaning for many employees, according to a recent survey of 2,000 remote, hybrid, and in-office U.S. workers.

In the 2022 Holiday Season Survey, conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of production software company Slack, 71% of the employees reported being available outside of their work hours on a regular basis.

During their time off for the holidays, 66% of the surveyed employees said they’d still be available for work, and 60% plan to keep their digital work notifications turned on, even though they would be on break. Among respondents who said they wouldn’t be available for work during the holidays, 43% claimed they still look at their work-related messages at least once a day while off.

According to the survey, the reason why so many are still working when they are supposed to be enjoying their time away is because of managerial pressure. One in two people (52%) reported feeling stressed and pressured by the expectation to be constantly available for work.

That pressure from higher ups appears to be very real—even if managers like to portray a different impression. While 72% of those with leadership roles said they encourage employees to switch off during the holidays, and 70% said they worry about employee burnout, almost two-thirds (65%) of the respondents in leadership also said they expect their employees to be available for work during their time off because they, too, plan on working. More than a quarter (27%) expect their employees to always be available to work during the holidays. Only one in 10 (10%) said that they don’t expect their employees to work at all.

“One of the most important things employers can do is model work-life balance and healthy approaches to PTO for their employees,” said Ana Martinez, director of engineering at Slack. “When we respond to messages during PTO we are, whether we like it or not, sending a message that we expect the same from our employees.”