Work/Life/ Vacation
By Jason Walsh Shhh! We’re ‘quiet vacationing’ today… E very office seems to have that one coworker who never takes any time off. Maybe they’re THAT dedicated to the success of the company—or… maybe they’re just taking time off on the sly.
stress experts (at least not entirely). Rather, seeming productive in a competitive job market is a career necessity for some. Meanwhile, shrinking PTO allowances, coupled with increasing life responsibilities, causes many workers to hoard their vacation days in case of an emergency—or to turn those hours into a payout if they’re not planning to stay in a job for long. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average amount of PTO a worker gets ranges from six to 13 days a year in the American private sector.
A new Harris Poll survey found that nearly 78% of U.S. workers say they don’t use up all their company allotted paid time off, or PTO. The poll of 1,170 people found younger professionals are least likely to use up their vacation time out of concerns of running out of PTO, or fears of being seen as a shirker. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re not taking any time off. They’re just not telling their supervisor. Nearly 40% of workers say they’ve taken time off without informing their managers, according to the poll, dubbed the 2024 Out of Office Culture Report . Tactics range from signing off early without telling anyone, working remotely from a beach or park, or even scheduling emails to send on weekends to show they’re working overtime. Some go so far as to purchase “mouse jiggling” software in order to appear active on remote-work platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack— meanwhile they’re off running personal errands. In an interview with CNBC, Harris Chief Strategy Officer Libby Rodney described “a giant work-around culture at play.” “They will figure out how to get appropriate work-life balance, but it’s happening behind the scenes,” she told CNBC. “It’s not exactly quiet quitting, but more like quiet vacationing.” It’s recreating without formally requesting the time off, career consultant Erin McGoff told MarketWatch recently. Or, put another way, said McGoff: “I’ve been seeing a lot of people talking about summer plans, but they weren’t requesting PTO.” The trend isn’t born of rebellion or a lack of work ethic,
5 tips for successful ‘quiet vacationing’
t Make sure your work gets done t Be aware of your surroundings during video
calls or turn camera off entirely t Don’t let your boss follow you on Instagram t Make sure your Wi-Fi is stable t Schedule as few meetings as possible
June 2024
NorthBaybiz 13
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