It's time to start investing in your people’s work-life balance
Companies implementing mandatory paid time off (PTO) for their staff are reaping great benefits, according to a new study from SkyNova. In an observation by managers after implementing mandatory PTO policies in their organisations, the following impacts have been reported:
For employees who were surveyed, on the other hand, more than two-thirds of those with mandatory PTO policy in their company rated their at-work happiness as good or excellent. They were also 10 percentage points more likely to experience good or excellent mental health, according to the report.
Despite these benefits, only 70.5% of the employees respondents said their company has mandatory PTO, and "relatively few companies" are actually enforcing them.
In addition, only 38.5% also said they increased their PTO in the past year, while 10.9% said they decreased it, while 35.3% did not make any changes to the policy.
Read more: PTO is the most common benefit employees look for in a job position
Employees, however, want changes. Eight of 10 employees in the study said their companies shouldhave mandatory PTO policies enforced. These policies should also cover the following:
But along with these mandatory PTO policies imposed, managers should also ensure that they are used by their employees. The SkyNova study revealed full-time employees averaged 18 days of vacation days, which they want to hike by 56.25% on average.
According to the research, 32% of employees sometimes and 31.9% often times avoid the need to take time off because they are unable to.
To encourage the use of PTO policies, managers are eyeing the following strategies:
