Imagine you’ve accrued 15 vacation days. Your partner has been sending you Airbnb links for months. Your plants need watering and your brain needs a reset.
Yet somehow, requesting those days off feels more daunting than presenting quarterly results to leadership.
As it turns out, you aren’t alone in this paradox—only 29% of employees actually use all their available vacation time, despite 85% supporting mandatory vacation policies. Translation: we’ve collectively become a workforce that enthusiastically endorses vacation in theory while avoiding it in practice.
Despite having access to paid or unlimited leave, 46% of employees take less time off than their organizations offer, with nearly half convinced they'll fall behind. A recent survey revealed U.S. workers are taking vacations at half the rate they did 40 years ago, with vacation usage plummeting to just 1.7% of the workforce in the last few years.
And even when employees manage to escape the office, 61% admit to still checking work messages at least once a day, further widening the workplace burnout, psychological insecurity, and overwork gap. For employers, simply encouraging workforces to take vacation time isn't enough for those who believe they can’t enjoy downtime—instead, the real challenge is celebrating employees who actually take time off.
When organizations actively recognize and reward vacation time, they transform how employees view these benefits—and ultimately how they contribute when they return refreshed and ready to tackle new challenges.
Why Employees Hesitate to Take Time Off
According to recent studies, nearly half of American workers will leave vacation days on the table this year, viewing time off as a luxury rather than a necessity. And with a majority reporting feelings of guilt when actually taking time off, vacation days have transformed from well-deserved benefits into anxiety-inducing moral dilemmas.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons employees forgo their PTO—and the larger costs that emerge from doing so.
The Vacation Shaming Epidemic
"Vacation shaming" has emerged as a troubling trend in recent years, describing work environments where teams use peer pressure and guilt to discourage employees from taking time off.
A recent survey revealed about half of all employees feel shamed for taking vacation time—an alarming jump from 41% previous years. But the phenomenon doesn't affect everyone equally:
- Working parents experienced vacation shame (55%) more frequently than non-parents (36%)
- Gen Z (76%) and Millennials (63%) reported staggering rates of vacation guilt
- Gen X experienced moderate shaming (44%)
- Baby Boomers reported the lowest rates (24%)
Resulting Costs
When workplaces subtly or overtly discourage vacations, psychological safety erodes.
Enter work martyr culture—where employees feel compelled to work longer hours and skip vacations to appear more dedicated. When workers fear judgment for using benefits like PTO, they question whether their organization truly values their wellbeing at all.
What results is a systemic disconnect between organizational policy and cultural trust. While policies may reinforce the freedom to take time off with or without explanation, cultural stigmas and norms prevent employees from believing they're truly permitted to disengage.
The Replacement Fear Factor
Many employees experience a gnawing anxiety about job security when planning time away. But their apprehension runs deeper than the fear of falling behind—it reflects profound insecurities about their professional value and organizational standing.
Job insecurity particularly affects vacation planning after economic instability, with inflation and international tensions being primary drivers. As a result, employees often feel compelled to prove their indispensability by never leaving their post, creating internal pressure to remain perpetually available.
But perhaps the biggest reason employees hesitate to take time off is when they don’t see their superiors doing so. When organizations don't explicitly support time off or when managers never unplug, employees accordingly interpret these signals as warnings.
The unspoken message becomes crystal clear—valuable team members don't take breaks.
Resulting Costs
When employees continuously postpone breaks or PTO, productivity doesn't just dip—it plummets.
Instead of accomplishing more through constant work, employees gradually produce less as their batteries drain, leading to burnout and chronic overwork. Without regular mental reset periods, employees experience a predictable decline that can cost organizations millions in:
- Reduced creative thinking abilities
- Weaker problem-solving skills
- Higher error rates
- Increased absenteeism
The Wellbeing Price Tag
The consequences of skipping vacations extend far beyond temporary fatigue—they impact fundamental health outcomes.
The World Health Organization found that working 55+ hours weekly is associated with a 35% higher stroke risk and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease compared to a standard workweek. Mental health also takes a blow when employees don't take enough breaks—continuous work without respite leads to increased stress, burnout, diminished cognitive function, chronic sleep deprivation, and lower job performance.
But the impact extends beyond individual employees. When workplace cultures discourage vacation use, organizations face irreparable damage:
- Chronically overworked employees become more likely to burn out, decreasing productivity and increasing error rates.
- Without breaks, employee engagement diminishes, leading to reduced enthusiasm, morale, and creativity.
- Personal relationships with family and friends often suffer from neglect of personal time.
5 Unconventional Ways to Celebrate Employees Who Take Time Off
American workers currently sit on nearly $2,953 worth of unused accrued vacation days per employee. But the outlook isn’t completely grim—by tweaking cultural expectations and getting creative with company resources, organizations can create environments where employees feel confident and safe to take time for themselves.
Let's take a closer look at creative strategies that can transform time off from something employees avoid into something your organization actively celebrates. These aren't just acknowledgment tactics—they're cultural catalysts that gradually reshape how your entire company views the critical connection between rest and performance.
1. Feature Vacationers in “Recharge Spotlights”
A dedicated and personalized "Recharge Spotlight" is an encouraging way to celebrate team members returning from vacation, making time away visible and valued.
When brief spotlights extend beyond performance metrics to celebrate personal stories, they become vibrant communication engines that employees actually want to read. The spotlight itself becomes a powerful statement that time off isn't just permitted—it's celebrated as essential to both wellbeing and workplace success.
These spotlights work best when they include:
- The employee's photo
- Brief description of their vacation activities
- One insight or perspective gained while away
- A positive note about their contributions since returning
💡 Pro Tip: Employees may worry that publicizing their time off might make them appear less dedicated. Counter this by ensuring spotlight participation is voluntary and focusing on how the break enhanced their work performance upon return.
2. Personalized “Welcome Back” Care Packages
The journey from vacation mode back to work mode often comes with mixed emotions—excitement about returning to meaningful projects, but nostalgia for those days of freedom.
A thoughtfully curated welcome-back package eases this transition while reinforcing that taking time away was the right choice. These gifts do more than just boost morale—they strengthen bonds between team members and reinforce that taking vacation isn't just acceptable, it's worthy of celebration.
The most effective care packages reflect an employee’s personal interests and needs, including:
- Favorite snacks or beverages for their first day back
- Small desk items that brighten their workspace
- Handwritten notes from managers or teams
- Small tokens related to their vacation destination
- Items that help with the post-vacation transition
3. Offer a “Workation Recovery Day”
While vacations renew motivation and morale, the transition back can create real challenges.
A "Workation Recovery Day" gives employees breathing room to reintegrate smoothly, allowing them time for:
- Getting settled back at home
- Catching up on emails without pressure
- Addressing urgent matters at a comfortable pace
- Mental readjustment to work routines
By acknowledging this reality through policy, organizations demonstrate a genuine understanding of employee needs—and signal that using vacation time shouldn't come with a punishment of overwhelming catch-up work.
4. Create a “Time Off Wall of Fame”
Organizations that celebrate vacation usage see 42% higher team engagement and reduced burnout rates. A "Time Off Wall of Fame" makes this celebration visible and permanent, whether in-person or virtual.
These recognition walls honor employees who prioritize wellbeing through time away. Through photographs, destination details, and brief stories, it both celebrates individuals and fosters collective motivation.
Not to mention, the benefits extend far beyond individual recognition—these visible and creative means of recognition reinforce appreciation cultures that boost morale across entire teams.
5. Allocate Meeting Time for Vacation Stories
When vacation stories get buried rather than shared, organizations miss powerful opportunities to normalize time off.
Companies have discovered that sharing personal stories is a key component in bringing team members closer together. Spending uninterrupted time discussing life journeys reveals aspects of colleagues that wouldn't surface in day-to-day work conversations.
Dedicating brief portions of team meetings for vacation storytelling provides:
- Visibility to time-off experiences
- Opportunity to share personal growth moments
- Knowledge exchange about destinations and activities
- Team bonding through shared experiences
This practice proves particularly valuable for teams with vacation-hesitant members and new hires. Hearing colleagues enthusiastically discuss their time away—and observing positive reactions from management—gradually reshapes perceptions about taking time off.
Out of Office, Peace of Mind: Redesigning Your Vacation Culture
The path to eradicating vacation guilt isn't a straight shot, but with these five celebration methods, organizations can transform PTO from something employees feel guilty about to something they proudly embrace.
Each time you publicly recognize an employee for taking time off, you chip away at outdated notions connecting presence with productivity. Eventually, vacations truly become what they should be—not merely permitted, but actively celebrated as an essential component of a healthy, high-performing workplace.
Did you know features in your wellness platform can make vacation celebrations an everyday part of your company culture? (Hint: you can automate “Recharge Spotlights” in under 3 minutes 👀). Reach out today to learn how you can adapt your current wellness infrastructure to make vacation-sharing your company’s newest trend.
