According to historical 2024 DASH data, UT Knoxville employees have an average of 21-25 days-off accrued for Annual Leave. About 21% of employees used all (or more) of their time off in 2024. The ones that used more saved time from a previous year using the rollover policy. On average, employees took 15.5 days off in 2024 and used 75% of their hours of annual leave. This may suggest that people do not use their Paid Time Off as they should. As an attractive benefit for any employee, taking time-off for personal reasons (i.e., family time, vacation, mental health) is often a part of the work agreement and a convincing factor for job acceptance. The U.S. does not mandate paid time-off and is one of very few countries that do not. Knowing when to strategically take time-off when needed, regardless of job title, level and set of responsibilities, or the nature of the work you do, is a must these days in order to prevent the negative effects of burnout, mental or physical illness, and ultimately the loss of great employees.
Other benefits, like UT’s Be Well programming, smart apps, or time-off for volunteering (i.e., Student Life’s MLK Days of Service) (Asfaw et al., 2022) have been acknowledged to help address negative health effects and improve an overall healthy and balanced lifestyle. The research related to Paid Leave has been found to have a “high return on investment with positive effects towards worker productivity, morale, job satisfaction, and reduced job turnover” (Asfaw et al., 2022, p.5.). Planning and taking time-off, especially when you know you are more mentally stressed during certain times of the year, have been studied. In fact, it was found that for “…every 10 additional days of paid vacation leave, the odds of depression in women were 29% lower” (Kim & Kreps, 2020, p. 22). In regard to benefits to society, paid leave has been found to be positively associated with health and well-being in general, for new mothers, families, and their children’s health while also helping fathers assuage work-family conflict and enhanced efforts towards family engagement and their children’s lives (Petts et al., 2020).
Taking time-off when you recognize some of the effects of burnout (the topic for the April Be Well Newsletter) can also help to stop the problems before they worsen. In one survey distributed by the FMLA Insights Newsletter, it was found that managing mental health was cited the most when asked about reasons for taking time-off (Nowak, 2024). What to look for when it comes to Burnout, you may ask? Well, according to Forbes, these are the top 10 signs of burnout: Loss of Energy, Behavioral Changes, Self-Doubt, Dips in Motivation, Inspiration, and Attention, Loss of Excitement, Physical Symptoms, Anxiety and Irritability, Lack of Focus, Changes in Diet and Eating Habits, and Angry Outbursts. If you feel you are experiencing any of these, perhaps it is time to take stock of what PTO benefits you may have available and strategically make plans to reward yourself with a little time-off and Self-Care (the topic for the May 2025 Be Well Newsletter).
References
Asfaw, A., Pana-Cryan, R., & Rosa, R. (2022). The case for offering paid leave: Benefits to the employer, employee, and society. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11556. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811556
Caprino, K. (2024, March 23). What does burnout feel like? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2024/03/23/what-does-burnout-feel-like/
Kim, D., & Kreps, G. L. (2020). Does paid vacation leave protect against depression among working Americans? A nationally representative longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7610. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207610
Nowak, J. (2024, January 30). As we turn to a new year, what leave benefits are employers offering in 2024? Mental health benefits top the list. FMLA Insights. https://www.fmlainsights.com/as-we-turn-to-a-new-year-what-leave-benefits-are-employers-offering-in-2024-mental-health-benefits-top-the-list/
Petts, R. J., Knoester, C., & Li, Q. (2020). Paid paternity leave-taking in the United States. Community, Work & Family, 23(2), 162-183. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13668803.2018.1471589