Why so many New Jersey workers still refuse to take PTO

I used to be the person who never took time off. Like… ever. All my PTO just sat there in my HR portal, building up like abandoned lottery tickets someone in Jersey would swear are totally winners.

Why so many New Jersey workers still don’t use their PTO

Maybe I was too busy. Maybe taking a vacation meant working twice as hard the week before to “earn” the right to relax. Maybe it was FOMO — afraid I’d miss something big. Or honestly, maybe I love my job and convinced myself I didn’t need a break.

Then one year, right around the holidays, I got hit with what felt like a Jersey-style intervention — my boss, a friend, and my wife all ganging up on me within the same week. Each one, in their own gentle-but-also-kind-of-calling-me-out way, told me the same thing:

“You know taking time off is part of your compensation, right? You’re literally throwing money away.”

I shrugged it off at first… until I started looking at the facts.

The surprising PTO data: How NJ compares to the rest of the country

Nationally, nearly a quarter of workers didn’t take any PTO last year. And even among people who do take time off, a huge chunk still can’t unplug — checking email from the shore like it’s a second office.

And here in New Jersey? We’re actually better than most at using our time — New Jerseyans leave an average of about 2.4 PTO days unused, which is one of the lowest rates in the country. But still — we could do better.

Meanwhile, almost half of workers nationally say they don’t expect to use all the time they’re entitled to around the holidays — the very season that’s tailor-made for a breather.

And even when people take time off, a surprising number use it just to rest — sleepcations are now a real thing, with many NJ workers admitting they use PTO not for exotic trips, but to finally catch up on sleep.

The guilt, the grind, and the Jersey mentality

That hit close to home for me. Heavy workload? Check. Fear of falling behind? Check. Culture of grind-mode? Double check. Guilt? Oh yeah — practically a hobby.

My wife finally said,
“You’d never tell a coworker to skip their vacation. So why is it okay when you do it to yourself?”

That one landed.

What finally changed — and what taking time off actually gave back

So I took a day off. Then another. And guess what? The world didn’t collapse. My projects lived. My team survived. And I came back sharper, lighter, and — shocker — actually happier.

Now I look at PTO differently. Not as a luxury, not something I have to “earn,” but as part of the deal — a literal investment in my sanity.

And I stopped throwing money — and myself — away. I never used to take the week between Christmas and New Year’s off. This year? I’m proudly doing it — spending a week in Northern California with our daughter!  No guilt, no stress, full Jersey confidence.

If you’re like me, let this be your gentle nudge: not taking time off isn’t doing you any favors. Rest isn’t a reward. It’s part of the job — and part of taking care of the person doing it.