My nephew and wife from Hyderabad had announced that they’d be visiting for five days, with their dog in tow. Looking forward to their company, I made plans for when they’d be staying with us—a movie, visits to friends’ houses, and even a session at their favourite spa. With a cousin’s engagement and a close friend’s baby shower thrown in on the weekend, their brief holiday was packed with fun. Or so I thought, till the duo landed with their laptops. They had not taken leave from work they said. Their respective bosses weren’t aware that they were out of town! They were working from home for three days and of course the weekend was off. Very conveniently, they would be ‘at work’ while actually out for three days!
What kind of a holiday was this, I wondered. An extraordinary one, no doubt, for what we achieved over the next five days was nothing short of remarkable. We ticked off everything on the ‘to do’ list, even while the duo disappeared for short whiles to attend official calls, send off e-mails at various times of the day. They joined online meetings while travelling in a car and even prepared their daily reports every evening alongside dinner! Their laptop and headphones went with them everywhere! They were on a ‘quiet vacation’ while remaining ‘connected’, even outside of office hours.
The couple ‘appeared’ to be really productive even while they were actually having their fair share of fun and family time. Wasn’t this productivity theatre? At some level, yes! Was it justified? Well, for youngsters like the said couple, with demanding work schedules and limited paid time off, a few days with friends and family could not do any harm. This was probably their way of balancing work and personal life. Rather smart, I would say.
The practice has its advantages. No need to waste time putting in a leave request or working around schedules so that work continues without disruption. No need to calculate the number of leaves left to avail or to explain to the seniors where, why and for how long they’d be gone.
‘Quiet vacationing’ is rampant amongst Millennials worldwide, not just in India it seems. A recent survey reveals that four out of five millennial employees in the US take time off quite often without seeking their boss’ permission or formally requesting paid time off.
Why do they do this? Well, 60 per cent of American workers dread the backlog of work that awaits them when they return after their paid time off. About 47 per cent feel guilty for taking paid time off.
As per the Out of Office Culture Report survey by The Harris Poll, 38 per cent of millennial US employees have “moved their mouse” simply to keep up their ‘online’ status on their company’s messaging system, that is, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and so on. Only 30 per cent Gen Z and 29 per cent Gen X admitted to having done this. Only a mere 20 per cent of Boomers resorted to this tactic. A significant 37 per cent of Millennials have taken time off without letting their managers know. An equal number of Millennials have scheduled a message to be sent beyond their regular working hours to appear that they are putting in extra hours.
With work pressure mounting, it is natural for employees to crave a vacation, but 50 per cent cannot afford it says the survey.
No wonder, a whopping 76 per cent of American workers wish for a workplace culture that strongly emphasises the value of taking regular breaks and utilising paid time off. A majority (85%) of them get 10 days or fewer paid days off. Of these, 73 per cent are men and 80 per cent are women. It is not surprising therefore that 65 per cent American workers find it challenging to strike a balance between work commitments and personal time off. Of these, 74 per cent belong to upper management, 74 per cent are Millennials and 72 per cent follow hybrid work. Again, the challenge is more for women (70 per cent) than men (62 per cent).
Thanks to a work culture that glorifies the state of being perpetually busy, American workers are pressured into being consistently connected, even beyond work hours.
A good 65 per cent workers respond to work-related messages or emails outside of regular hours, while 64 per cent respond to work-related messages or emails even when they are out on lunch. Sixty per cent respond to urgent work requests outside of regular hours, while 54 per cent attend work-related events outside regular hours. About 51 per cent engage in work-related training or development outside of work hours.
While 62 per cent of the 1,170 employed adults aged 18 and over who were part of the survey are of the opinion that ‘out of office’ means no working at all, 60 per cent admit that they struggle to fully disconnect during their time off. A significant 56 per cent have taken work calls during their time off, while 37 per cent have worked from a third location while on vacation.
Almost nine in 10 American employees—a whopping 86 per cent—say they would check an email from their boss, even when on paid time off or vacation.
What makes them do this? To appear diligent and productive, and far from slack of course! They are not compromising on their personal happiness and have found a way to achieve a balance in life without troubling their employers too much. It is helping them cope with workplace stress and return to their official duties with more energy.
Sixty-six per cent American workers are of the opinion that if their workplace provided more paid days off, they would be more productive employees.
The Out of Office Culture Report survey also revealed that 78 per cent of respondents did not take paid time off. However, 75 per cent of respondents said they wished they could take time off for everything. The participants of the survey comprised 166 members of GenZ, 486 Millenials, 365 members of Gen X and 153 Boomers based in the US.