Downtime from Work: Relationships among Workaholism, Work Engagement, Work Stress, and Paid Time Off

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential associations among workaholism, work engagement, work stress, and paid time off (PTO) usage. Although recovery from daily work stressors is essential for continued work success, almost one-third of PTO provided in the U.S. is not utilized. Therefore, a deeper investigation of who relinquishes this benefit (that enhances health and wellbeing) and, instead, does not use PTO days is crucial. Full-time employees (N = 302) in a variety of occupations in the U.S. were surveyed. Specifically, they were assessed on workaholism, work engagement, work stress, and PTO usage and potential relationships were examined. Our findings demonstrated that workaholism is negatively associated with PTO usage and positively related to work stress. Additionally, work stress is negatively linked to PTO usage and work engagement. Continued research on PTO usage, worker characteristics, and work-life initiatives may improve employee benefit packages, which could yield monetary savings for organizations. Furthermore, work-life initiatives enhance employee health and wellbeing, thereby increasing job performance and positively influencing organizations.