How communicators encourage employees to take PTO

As the holidays fast approach, employees are figuring out how to best prepare for the potential PTO time they’ve been saving up.

Our work responsibilities are undeniably important. But so is taking time to relax, enjoy the season with family and friends, and recharge for the new year.  Organizations that communicate not just that employees should take their PTO, but why that needs to happen from a cultural standpoint, build an employer brand that radiates outward to future talent.

Adequate time off the clock helps create an environment in which employees are effective on the clock. Normalizing and celebrating PTO usage can help create a more trusting, vibrant company culture permeating all parts of the organization.

Creating the space for healthy time off

It’s easy to tell people to take a day off. It’s a bit harder to ensure that your culture is such that people feel safe and supported to do so. By talking about PTO openly and positively, communicators can help all employees feel psychologically safe when they need some time away from their work.

Johnna Muscente, vice president of communications and PR at The Corcoran Group told Ragan that communicators should discuss PTO as an integral part of any job.

“PTO should be seen as part of the holistic employee experience, just like your paycheck or health insurance,” she said.

Muscente also touched on a few steps communicators can take to normalize talking about and taking PTO in any organization.

• Ecourage leaders to model PTO-positive behavior. If employees see their leaders relating the fact that taking PTO is acceptable and good workplace behavior, they’re more likely to do so themselves. You can document their vacation recaps on the intranet or encourage them to talk about them during all-hands calls. “Even if you’re a CEO or senior leader, you should still take time off and show that rest is important for everyone,” Muscente said. She added that on a team level, managers need to remind their reports to take time off. “Managers should be aware of how frequently their teams take time off and encourage it if someone hasn’t taken a break in a while.”
• Push back on hustle culture and set boundaries. Hard work is great. But it shouldn’t come at the expense of an employee’s mental health. Time off is necessary, and communicators can drive that idea home clearly with specific reminders around the holidays. “No one should feel pressured to work without rest or take pride in not taking time off,” Muscente told Ragan. In addition to creating PTO-positive messaging, communicators should point out that PTO helps employees bring their full selves to work. “Respecting employees’ time to go on vacation, spend time with their families or pursue personal passions is part of seeing them as complete people,” Muscente added.
• Managers can help create redundancies and coverage for PTO. By mapping out who’s responsible for what when a given employee on your team takes PTO, you can help remove the stress that might come from stepping away, opening the door to genuinely restorative time off. “Prepare a document with instructions, potential issues and contacts so your team has everything they need while you’re away,” Muscente said. “Having coverage in place allows you to enjoy a restful vacation and come back ready to dive in again.”

Communicators can drive PTO-positive behaviors

When you talk about PTO not just as a benefit, but as a critical part of any employee’s experience at a company, it becomes easier to model behaviors that value it. Debra Helwig, internal communications manager at Pinion Global, said that a big reason employees don’t take time off in the first place is that conversations about it aren’t being had.

“Many employees don’t take time because they don’t have known parameters for it,” Helwig said. “We intend for you to schedule it and proactively talk about PTO.”

Helwig shared a few other opportunities communicators can explore to help create positive relationships with PTO.

• PTO processes can build partnerships. Discussions about PTO, how it’s used and talked about are great opportunities for communicators to work collaboratively with their colleagues in HR. Comms pros and HR should build structures together that managers can source when PTO comes up. “If your organization does not have some sort of communications vehicle that’s talking to supervisors and managers directly about supervision, you’re missing an opportunity to partner with your HR department,” Helwig said.
• Write the PTO values playbook. When comms and HR collaborate, the ability to bounce information off one another creates an environment in which the policies and messaging about PTO reflect the company’s values. “The relationship with HR is crucial, especially when it comes to policies that affect employees’ work-life balance,” added Helwig. ”By working closely with HR, internal comms can reinforce messages about taking time off in a way that aligns with mission and values.”
• Reminders beyond the calendar help reinforce PTO importance. It’s easy to get swept up in our day-to-day work and forget to take a day here and there. At Pinion, Helwig and the comms team keep PTO an active part of the meeting discussion. “We do a quarterly all-hands meeting where I provide quick reminders about the holiday calendar and upcoming PTO needs,” she said. “Even simple announcements like this help keep it a regular part of the conversation and ensure employees plan.”

PTO is critical to performing as our best selves at work, even when we love our jobs. As the year ends, remember your power to cement PTO as a cultural positive that all employees use by setting up the structures and discussions to bring this message home for the holidays,

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time, he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.