Why Are Employees Quiet Vacationing?

The new trend in quiet vacationing has become both embraced and revered, depending on your perspective. The increasing reluctance to take actual vacation time has been replaced by quiet vacationing, taking half or full days off without declaring a vacation day. For some, this could reflect a larger problem in the US vacation policy: namely, it is one of the few industrialized nations that doesn’t have a legally mandated minimum number of paid days off. Many countries with similar workforces require by law that their employees have a guaranteed amount of time off. For example, EU employees are guaranteed 20 paid vacation days. It might not be a coincidence that American workers are taking what they aren’t given. And that isn’t surprising. We all need downtime to recuperate and restore. Even if you love your job—maybe especially if you love your job—we need to step back from it.

Quiet working is causing quiet vacationing. Managers who worry about quiet vacationing can’t change American employment laws. However, they can set a good example by taking actual vacations. Quiet working—continuing to check emails, join calls, or otherwise participate in work while on vacation—is as much to blame. Corporate culture is more than what is written on the company website or in the employee handbook. It’s embodied by the practices of the leaders. Those who are most junior in the company are most likely to take their cues from those they report to. If your boss is supposed to be on vacation but keeps showing up during the work day—even a little—it sends a signal that a real break isn’t appropriate. And the more junior you are, the less vacation you likely have. As a result, people are reluctant to use their precious vacation time working. Instead, they simply take vacations while pretending to work. It’s the mirror image of working while pretending to vacation.

Not working is good for work. The irony is that vacation time can increase productivity, increase employee loyalty and retention, and reduce burnout. One study even indicated that workers who took vacations had increased creativity. On a more personal level, studies have shown that stress-reducing vacations can even prolong your life. Employees should want to come to work, and they should also want to take a vacation. The days of work to live are over for many Americans, and employers need to embrace that, not shame it. This starts with clear and consistent messaging, but it lands when leaders stop quiet working. It not only sets an example of a real vacation (and thus ending the need for a quiet vacation), but it also signals trust in the team.

If you want employees to stop vacationing at work, then stop working on vacation.

The future of work is in a moment of extended evolution. The pandemic challenged our ideas about the workplace and lifestyle. It also has prompted a change in what employees value, and by extension, how employers can recruit and retain talent. If we want employees to enjoy coming to work, then managers need to exemplify enjoying not coming to work. If the bosses can learn to leave work behind, their teams might be willing to admit when they do.