Paid time off has long been considered a cornerstone of employee well-being. But a compelling new study from Patriot Software, an accounting and payroll software company for small businesses, suggests that for many workers, the ability to use that time remains more aspiration than reality.
The survey of 1,000 employed Americans uncovers a deeper issue than policy design — it reveals what happens when workplace culture and employee trust fall out of alignment.
The data’s most striking finding: 66% of employees would take 15 days or fewer annually, even under an unlimited PTO policy. Among Gen Z, nearly half would take 10 days or less. These are not the behaviors of workers who feel uninhibited. They are the behaviors of workers who feel watched. As the study puts it, “in workplaces shaped by performance metrics, layoffs, and constant connectivity, ‘unlimited’ can feel ambiguous.”
When there is no defined number of days to anchor expectations, employees look upward for cues. If leadership doesn’t model rest, stepping away feels like a risk rather than a right. The response to this uncertainty is telling: 91% of respondents say a mandatory minimum time-off policy paired with unlimited PTO would be appealing. Freedom, it seems, is most valued when it comes with a foundation.
Gender inequity adds another layer. 27% of women report their PTO feels unfair relative to their contributions, compared to 20% of men. In many cases, PTO absorbs responsibilities that go far beyond leisure — eldercare, school closures, medical appointments. For employees carrying that load, static policies feel deeply misaligned with reality. Burnout data reinforces this concern: about half of working women feel stressed daily, compared with 40% of men.
For Millennials, the consequences are financial. 40% have taken unpaid leave after exhausting their paid time off, with another 25% unable to afford to do so. In peak caregiving years, PTO is less a vacation benefit and more a financial safety net. The Aflac WorkForces Report found that 66% of Millennials are facing moderate to high burnout — the highest of any generation — underscoring how deeply these pressures compound.
Kyle Dreger, CEO of Patriot Software, captured the human dimension at the heart of this data:
“Encouraging PTO use comes down to two things: employers who respect their team’s time enough to say ‘step away,’ and employees who trust their workplace enough to actually do it.”
Great leadership creates the conditions for people to thrive — not just in what they produce, but in how they rest. The leaders who understand that distinction are the ones building workplaces worth staying in.Explore the full research from Patriot Software here.
