Howard Levitt: The rise of the productivity killer known as 'quiet vacationing'
By Howard Levitt and Chase Frazer
In Canadian workplaces, where vacation days are cherished, a curious trend is emerging, one enabled by the shift to remote work. It is called “quiet vacationing.” According to the May 2024 “Out of Office Culture Report” (“OOO Report”) published by The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice, it involves employees unofficially taking time off on a regular workday, without advising their employer, rather than honestly requesting vacation time, so they can save their paid time off for later.
Picture this: a diligent employee, surrounded by the comforts of home, secretly slipping away from their professional duties without a word to their employer. They are not calling in sick or formally requesting time off. Instead, they are participating in an underground movement where workers savour their paid time off on the sly while maintaining the facade of productivity.
Let us not mince words; what some call “quiet vacationing,” others might label time theft. It is the art of getting paid for hours not worked, a crafty dance that intertwines an employee’s desire for leisure and their need for a steady paycheck. From extending lunch breaks to clandestine errand runs during office hours, the spectrum of time theft has few bounds.
Demonstrating how far the employment landscape has shifted in the wake of COVID-19, with remote work becoming the new norm, the lines between work and play have blurred as never before. Now employees find themselves emboldened by their virtual autonomy, slipping in and out of vacation mode with ease.
According to the OOO Report, remote workers are leading the quiet vacation charge, capitalizing on their newfound freedom from the prying eyes of supervisors. Yet behind the
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