Why Unused PTO Reveals a Leadership Problem Hiding in Plain Sight

Recent data from FlexJobs shows that nearly one-quarter (23%) of US workers didn't take a single vacation day over the past year. While many articles focus on employee hesitation or workplace culture, there's a less discussed factor: leaders often lack the capacity to properly encourage time off or create the conditions where teams feel comfortable disconnecting.

Fineas Tatar, productivity expert and co-founder of premium executive assistant service Viva, explains:

"When executives tell their teams to take PTO but never take it themselves, or when leaders are so buried in operational work that the team fears everything will fall apart in their absence, the message is clear: time off isn't actually supported here. The issue is that most leaders want their teams to rest and recharge, but they haven't built the operational structure to make that possible."

According to Tatar, unused PTO often signals a leadership problem rather than an employee motivation issue.

Tatar identifies three reasons why teams struggle to take time off:

1. Leaders don't model healthy PTO usage:

When executives are drowning in email management, calendar coordination, and administrative tasks, they rarely take time off themselves. Even when they do, they remain constantly available. This sets an unspoken expectation: taking PTO means you're letting the team down or you're not committed enough.

2. Teams lack confidence that work will continue smoothly:

If a leader is the bottleneck for approvals, decisions, or information access, employees know their absence will create backlogs. Without proper delegation systems or operational support, taking PTO feels irresponsible rather than restorative.

3. There's no infrastructure for genuine disconnection:

Many organizations encourage PTO in theory but lack the structure to support it in practice. When there's no backup for critical responsibilities, no documented processes, and no coverage plan, employees return from time off to chaos, which defeats the entire purpose.

Rather than simply telling teams to take more PTO, Tatar recommends executives focus on three structural changes:

• Build operational resilience: Leaders need to audit whether their teams can function effectively when any one person, including themselves, is out. This requires documentation, cross-training, and delegating tactical work so that operations don't depend on constant executive availability.

• Model disconnection authentically: Executives should take PTO and actually disconnect. This means setting up systems in advance, trusting the team or support structure to handle issues, and resisting the urge to check in constantly. When leaders demonstrate that time off is genuinely supported, teams feel permission to do the same.

• Create coverage systems that work: Instead of expecting employees to "catch up" after PTO, build structures where responsibilities are covered during absences. This might mean hiring support roles, redistributing tasks temporarily, or establishing clear escalation paths so no one feels guilty for stepping away.

Tatar concludes: "Unused PTO is a symptom of leadership capacity issues. When executives are too overwhelmed to step away from work themselves or build teams that function independently, they unintentionally create cultures where rest feels impossible. The solution is creating operational structures that allow everyone, including leaders, to truly disconnect."