Paid time off can be a low-cost and popular benefit, but whether workers feel comfortable using it is another story.

Published April 3, 2025 by Ryan Golden

Paid time off policies reduce turnover for all workers, regardless of how satisfied workers are with their jobs or whether they have access to flexible schedules, according to a joint Florida Atlantic University and Cleveland State University study published in the International Journal of Manpower last month.

Researchers found that voluntary turnover dropped by 35% among employees who were offered PTO. However, PTO did not affect workers’ job satisfaction — though job satisfaction did independently reduce turnover by about 30% to 40%, the universities said in a press release.

“While workers may feel satisfied with their job, the absence of adequate resources like PTO can still drive them to quit,” said LeaAnne DeRigne, professor at FAU’s Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, in the release. “Even when employees are content in their roles, the lack of sufficient time away from work can lead to burnout, stress or a sense of being undervalued, ultimately prompting them to leave.”

Similarly, access to flexible schedules also reduced voluntary turnover, but did so independently of PTO availability, per the study results. Researchers compared the value of flexible scheduling to that of retirement plans in terms of their role in turnover reduction.

Increasingly in-demand

The study results reflect what may be obvious to HR observers: employees tend to seek positions with PTO availability. Unlimited PTO is increasingly in demand; about 1 in 5 workers surveyed last year by financial services firm Empower said they would turn down jobs that did not come attached with an unlimited PTO benefit, and 26% said they would even take a job that paid less if it came with unlimited PTO.

The study results reflect what may be obvious to HR observers: employees tend to seek positions with PTO availability. Unlimited PTO is increasingly in demand; about 1 in 5 workers surveyed last year by financial services firm Empower said they would turn down jobs that did not come attached with an unlimited PTO benefit, and 26% said they would even take a job that paid less if it came with unlimited PTO.

Employers, particularly those in talent-hungry industries, largely have responded to the trend. Data from Indeed showed that mentions of PTO in job postings on the site more than doubled between January 2020 and May 2024, with in-person work jobs being especially likely to offer PTO.

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Source: HR Dive

https://www.hrdive.com/news/paid-time-off-reduces-job-hopping-regardless-of-employee-satisfaction/744342/