Silent Vacationing: According to a survey, workers are taking time off without telling anybody ahead of time

There are now a number of buzzwords and new workplace trends in vogue. People are talking about their worries about the challenges in their work lives, from silent resignations to dry advancements. Despite ebbing and flowing fashions, one thing that never changed was the need for businesses to prioritize productivity and for workers to have a stress-free work environment. Quiet vacationing is the most recent craze to gain popularity.

According to the book, a worker must tell the boss in order to request a vacation leave. But a new trend in the workplace is silent vacationing, when many workers skip that step and take time off without telling their managers. According to a CNBC story and a poll conducted by American market research and analytics company The Harris Poll, over 78% of American workers—especially millennials and Gen Z—do not utilize all of their Paid Time Off (PTO) days.

The article quoted The Harris Poll’s chief strategy officer, Libby Rodney, as saying that younger workers are reluctant to ask for paid time off (PTO) because they don’t want to be seen as “slackers,” and they feel under pressure to meet deadlines and be productive. While Gen Z workers are reportedly more outspoken when employers criticize them for wanting to take time off, millennials are said to prefer quietly handling situations on their own. “They will figure out how to get an appropriate work-life balance, but it’s happening behind the scenes,” said Libby Rodney. It’s more like quiet vacationing than quiet resigning, as CNBC put it.

Some workers reportedly fabricate an illusion to give the appearance that they are working. To suggest that they are working extra, they may, for instance, schedule emails to be delivered either outside of or within business hours. Additionally, some users often move their mouse over the company’s chat platforms to give the impression that they are operational even when they are not.

According to Libby Rodney, when workers feel forced to leave the office early for breaks, it’s a sign that their firm doesn’t have a positive PTO policy. She continued by saying that employers may ease the stress in the workplace by enforcing a set amount of time off, normalizing PTO by taking time off themselves, and being more explicit about what constitutes a legitimate leave request.