Are Minnesota Workers Using All Their Sick Days?

For most of us who work full-time, we get so many vacation days, personal days and sick days, or at least some form of those combined into the benefits package that employers are offering.  

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The number of days that are available could be a recruiting point when trying to attract prospective employees to a company.  

But are we using all of those days? A recent study stated that 46% of American workers don’t use all the “PTO” or Personal Time Off that we earn. There are reasons for that including the amount of work that must be done, or there’s a big project you’re working on that needs to be completed. 

So, what about your sick days? Are you using all of those? From company to company how many days you get will vary, but these are built into the benefits so folks don't have to burn their vacation days when their child wakes up in the middle of the night sick, or the dinner they had the night before didn’t settle right and they need to get some sleep after being up all night.  

A new study looking at sick day use from 2019-2023 says that more workers used all their sick days than before 2019. Of course, living through a pandemic is a big reason for those numbers going up. 

It used to be that we would somehow muster up the strength to get to work prior to covid but since, we’re hopefully a little more aware of spreading germs and taking the welfare of not only our co-workers but their families into consideration when we aren’t feeling well.  

This study found that more Gen-Zer's called into work more often than older workers. The Gen-Z generation were born between the years 1997 to 2012. The Morning Brew quoted the human resources platform “Dayforce” with these findings that said employees using their sick days went up 55% from 2019-2023. 

Another HR Platform called "Gusto" showed that even in smaller white collar type businesses, the number of employees using their sick days went up 42% last year alone. 

Both HR platforms found that the Gen-Z generation used more sick days than older workers. So, why is that? 

My guess is that we’re still aware of spreading germs like I said before, but younger workers who have only been in the workforce a few years and may have never worked for a boss that discouraged employees using sick days. Most of us who’ve been in the workforce for years have had at least one boss like that.  

No matter your age group, making sure we use all the days we are allowed is important for us to stay healthy; mentally and physically.  

Hopefully, after looking at this and thinking about your situation, you’ll be more aware of taking advantage of the benefits package that is afforded to you.