Requests for PTO increase, study shows importance of work-life balance

Hiring and turnover are down from this time last year, according to a new study by BambooHR, an HR software solutions company. Although job openings continued to rise through Q1, the study suggests that hiring is slowing down and work-life balance is now more important than ever. 

Employees value their time off and globally, requests for time off have continued to increase. The study found that time off requests increased by 7% from Q1 of March 2023 to Q1 of March 2024 even though the amount approved has decreased by 6%. 

During Q1 of 2024, 39% of employees in the US made requests for time off, with only 29% of those requests approved. Requests for time off in the US increased by 6% from Q1 of 2023 to Q1 of 2024, while approvals decreased by 3%. 

The finance and nonprofit industries had the highest number of requests for paid time off in March 2024. Meanwhile the restaurant, food and beverage industry ranked the lowest for paid time off requests, despite having a high percentage of approved time off relative to other industries. Notably, the number of requests for PTO within the health care industry increased by 10% from February into March of this year. 

Related: PTO trends experience reformatting for many U.S. companies

Performance feedback has seen global increases. According to the study, performance reviews are up 12% globally from Q1 of 2023 to Q1 of 2024. During Q1, there were nine peer reviews for every one manager in the US. 

Although the number of available jobs has remained relatively similar to this time last year, the study found that they’re up 4% from February to March of 2024 in the US. While the construction and travel/hospitality industries continue to have the highest rates of new hires, they also saw the greatest amount of employee turnover at 2.6% according to the study.