Anxiety Around Job Security Drives Employees to Take Secret Vacations

First there was ‘quiet quitting’ – the idea of putting forth the least amount of work possible to keep one’s job. Now, apparently, some employees are taking the trend even further by ‘quiet vacationing’ – or taking vacation time without letting their employer know.

According to a Resume Builder survey of 1,050 corporate workers who have paid time off benefits, 1 in 10 workers participated in quiet vacationing during the past year and 1 in 8 plan to do so this summer. Of workers who took unauthorized vacation, 18% took one secret vacation day, 43% took 2 to 3, 24% took 4 to 5, and 15% took six or more secret vacation days.

But rather than trying to pull a fast one on their boss, the survey revealed employees are largely driven to surreptitiously take time off because they are worried about the impact taking PTO will have on their job security, even though a majority of workers believe their direct manager supports the use of PTO. The reasons employees took vacation days without their employer’s permission included being too anxious to ask for time off, not wanting to use paid time off, and believing taking a vacation day would make them look less hardworking. In addition, 29% of respondents thought they’d be more likely to be laid off if they took vacation days, 26% had their request not approved, and 23% didn’t have any paid time off left to use.

“When companies extend PTO benefits without addressing these underlying anxieties, it not only fails to motivate but can also erode retention of their most valued employees,” said Resume Builder’s chief career advisor Stacie Haller. “Managers should actively promote a culture where employees feel encouraged to take their deserved time off without fear of repercussions, whether real or perceived. A company’s culture is shaped by how its employees perceive and experience such policies.”

During unauthorized vacation, more than 60% of employees surveyed said they found ways to appear as if they were still working normal hours. Their strategies included answering emails, responding to instant messages, taking phone calls and attending virtual meetings. Of those who say they attended virtual meetings while on their secret vacation, 66% say they used a virtual background of their typical office space to hide the fact they were in a different location. On days when their employers presumed they were working full days rather than on vacation, respondents reported spending varying amounts of time on work, with 18% working less than one hour, 35% working 1 to 2 hours, 31% working 3 to 4 hours, and 16% working more than four hours.

Despite their best efforts at deception, nearly half (46%) of respondents said their employer found out they were on vacation.