Word Wiz: Quiet Vacationing

A 2024 Resume Builder survey of 1,050 corporate workers found that two in five worry that taking paid time off will affect their job security. To circumvent that, some employees take leave without notice in an emerging trend called quiet vacationing.

Essentially, a worker who is quiet vacationing doesn't request PTO. Managers, therefore, believe those employees are working a typical day rather than taking a holiday. Resume Builder respondents said they keep up the ruse by answering emails and phone calls, using instant messaging applications such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, and attending virtual meetings. Two-thirds of workers who said they attend virtual meetings while quiet vacationing use a virtual background of their standard office space to simulate a typical day.

The survey found that 11 percent of employees took at least one vacation day without taking PTO in 2023. Of those who took at least one secret day off, 15 percent took at least six days without notifying their supervisors.

Efforts to mislead employers aren't always successful, however. Of the workers who took a secret vacation, almost half said their supervisor discovered the deception.