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Ever wondered how your mate is living their best life at the beach on a Wednesday and still clocking in for work? It’s called #QuietVacationing, where you secretly take a holiday and just… don’t tell your boss. Like all good workplace trends — #QuietQuitting, #NakedQuitting, etc — the concept of quiet vacationing took off on TikTok. However, vitality does not equal reality. So are people actually doing it? And if so, how are they getting away with something so high risk?
How I’m trying to be. (Image: iStock)
First, what is quiet vacationing?
Quiet vacationing It’s basically when you decide to jet off to some exotic locale without telling your boss. You’re still ‘working’, but instead of staring at your sad little houseplant, you’re sipping margaritas on a beach in Bali.
Now, you might be thinking, ‘But isn’t that just lying?’ And to that, I say: it’s more like… creative truth-telling. Besides, if your boss can pretend that a cupcake once a year will make up for not giving you a raise, you can pretend you’re not living your best life in Paris.
Quiet quitting is the “millennials’ attempt at creating a work life balance,” according to TikToker Tati.
Why do people quiet vacation?
So, why are people quiet vacationing? It seems we’re just finally putting a name to something that’s been happening for ages with people who have a WFH option. A recent survey from market research firm Harris Poll found that about 28 per cent of employees have taken unofficial time off, with millennials and Gen Z leading the pack — 37 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.
This trend shows that younger workers are really trying to find that sweet spot between work and play without the hassle of asking for time off.
Me trying to explain to my boss why I may need two weeks off after seeing Paul Mescal in Gladiator II. (Image: iStock Images)
Interestingly, even though many employees are satisfied with their company’s vacation policies — 83 per cent reported being happy with their PTO options — 78 per cent still don’t use all their available time off. The pressure and anxiety of asking for time off can be enough of a barrier apparently.
“Millennials quiet vacationing isn’t just about being out of the office; it reflects broader issues like an inability to disconnect, anxiety over requesting time off, and underused vacation days,” said Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll, to Euronews Next.
Okay, but do people actually get away with quiet vacationing?
I chatted with some anonymous quiet vacationers, and let me tell you, they are committed to the cause.
*Karan, 31, Marketing exec from Brisbane
Karan is an O.G. quiet vacationer and has been pulling this stunt since before COVID made WFH cool. He’d jet off to India to visit family multiple times a year. “I remember I was working for a marketing company at the time,” he told PEDESTRIAN.TV. “They just let me do it all from home and I’d just have to come in to the office once a month.”
Karan explained that he didn’t see the sense in going “all the way to India” for only two weeks.
“I have so much family over there, I honestly wouldn’t be able to do all the visits and family duties I’d need to get through in two weeks. I’ve spent all that money on flights, I might as well stay a little longer. I still get my work done.”
He woke up early to match time zones and cleverly scheduled his calls before noon Aussie time so he could enjoy his afternoons in peace. Karan did almost get caught once during a surprise call: “All you could hear was the honking and yelling on the street. The guy I was video calling asked me, ‘Are you in Vietnam?’ I had to say ‘no I’m in Brisbane; I just live in Little India.’”
As someone who grew up close to Brissy and is Indian, I’m still trying to figure out where that is.
It’s a common experience. (Image: @thatonebrowngirl08/TikTok)
*Lily, 25, Project manager from Melbourne
Lily works three days a week from home, but couldn’t get approved leave to help her mum out after her knee surgery. So what did she do? She went anyway!
“I did all my meetings leading up to my trip in front of a white wall and continued to do so when I was with my mum so it wouldn’t look as suss,” she explained.
“I still got my work done, so I’m not sure what the issue was. They kept saying that I could WFH but not remote work, which I thought was dumb cause what’s the difference.”
*Sean, 24, Social media manager from Melbourne
Then there’s Sean who decided to kick off his new job by logging in from the beach after a night out. Honestly, I’m just impressed they were alive enough to remember to log on.
As they put it, “So bold of me but when I first started at my work I went to a gig in Geelong on a Sunday and logged in from the beach while my friends were surfing on Monday morning.”
I’d rather be hungover at the beach than at work. (Image: Beth/X)
*Samantha, 26, Consultant living in London
I got to see quiet vacationing in action because Samantha was literally chatting to me whilst on her lunch break in Portugal. She moved to London for work but has only been in the office four times in five months.
“I moved to London for work and cause I just wanted to be able to pop over to different countries over the weekend. But my clients and projects were with people all over the world, so I was on zooms with my team anyways, so I’d just take the meeting from Paris or hop over to Dublin and do my work week from there,” she said.
The only close call she’s had is when she was in Paris during the Olympic games this year and had to take a meeting whilst she was out and about. “I had to keep muting my mic so it wouldn’t pick up the crowds and cheering. I blamed it on a loud neighbour. I’ve used that ‘neighbour’ for an excuse a couple times LOL.”
According to Samantha, your ‘neighbour’ is officially the adult version of ‘my dog ate my homework’.
Is quiet vacationing worth it?
We cannot answer that for you. And if you try it and get fired, we are not responsible. However, if you are going to partake in this morally ambiguous trend, may your Wi-Fi be strong, your backgrounds be nondescript, and your boss be none the wiser.
Looking for the job that won’t make you want to quiet vacation? Check out new listings at Pedestrian JOBS now.
*Names have been changed to protect their privacy.
Lead image: SaraIsThreads/TikTok
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