Advertising Specialty Institute

One of the biggest issues facing the promo industry during the COVID-19 pandemic is the overabundance of paid time off. We all needed an escape in 2020, but with government-imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions, there was nowhere to go. Even employees that had plenty of PTO weren’t encouraged to use it because of pandemic-related staffing cuts. So, where did it all go? And for those that did get away from work, how did they spend their time? In this episode of Promo Insiders, Executive Editor Theresa Hegel talks with Senior Writer John Corrigan about his feature story on the promo industry’s inability (and refusal) to take time off. Nearly half of the promo industry used less PTO in 2020 than they did in 2019, according to ASI data. Travel restrictions was a major contributor with many vacations scrapped because either people couldn’t fly or didn’t feel safe. Even if they did go somewhere, there were limits on activities, such as wearing a mask when you left your hotel room. Plus, with most people work