Study Links Expanded PTO to Lower Turnover Rates

A new study finds that giving employees ample time away to recharge their batteries could be a key to keeping them with your organization for the long haul.

In an analysis of 18 years of data and more than 32,000 observations, researchers from Florida Atlantic University and Cleveland State University assessed how paid time off (PTO) influences voluntary turnover.

According to a Florida Atlantic University statement, the study is the first to apply the Conservation of Resources Theory to PTO, “which suggests employees stay when they have the time they need to rest, recover and manage personal demands.”

For the analysis, the researchers explored “not only PTO’s overall impact on resignation, but also how different amounts affect early-career men and women over time,” revealing what they say is a “clear pattern.”

For example, organizations that offered just one to five days of PTO saw only “modest reductions” in quitting, with “no meaningful effect” when men and women were analyzed separately.

Those providing between six and 10 days off, however, saw significantly fewer resignations, especially among men.

“The strongest effect emerged at 11 or more paid days off,” according to the researchers, “where both men and women were substantially less likely to leave their jobs.”

The investigators also saw PTO having little impact on female employees’ decisions to stay until they are offered 11 or more days, “at which point quitting decreases significantly,” they wrote.

Overall, additional PTO was found to reduce quit rates for both men and women. While noting that men already quit at lower rates than women (4.7% versus 6.7%), the researchers found that additional paid time off further decreased quitting for both groups, reinforcing the idea that all employees value their time away from the office, however they choose to use that time.

“The evidence is clear: policies that offer only five paid days off simply don’t go far enough,” said study co-author LeaAnne DeRigne, PhD, in a statement.

“Most state laws stop at this minimal threshold, and not a single state mandates more than eight paid days off,” said DeRigne, professor in the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work within FAU’s College of Social Work and Criminal Justice.

“Yet our data show that the strongest retention benefits occur well above those limits. If policymakers and employers want to keep workers, they need to recognize that meaningful time away from work isn’t a luxury—it’s a proven strategy for stability.”