Have You Heard Of This Work Trend: "Quiet-Vacationing" 

I have never left a single day of pto unused and I never will!

I had a boss tell me I was taking “way too many days off” during the summer and I literally had taken 3 days off for a vacation. He was a complete boomer who never went on vacation.

I was passed up for promotion so I work remote and I just leave the house while I’m on the clock . Screw it ! I tried going above and beyond but it’s gotten me nowhere

I wouldn’t want to go on a vacation and be stuck to my laptop for 8 hours. Many employers give vacation but have zero or inadequate coverage for your job. To take a week off you have to finish deadlines that are due while on vacation. Then come back after vacation with a week of work to catch up on. So now you are stressed more a day back from vacay. That defeats the vacation.

I don’t take my PTO because I can cash it out. I cash out 160hrs a year of PTO. It’s really helped getting to my goal of paying my house off.

America has such a strange productivity culture. My friends in US work themselves to stress and ill health, and then dont even take their PTO? Over in UK and europe we get about 25 paid days off a year and its considered strange if you dont use it all up..

Been at my company for almost 15 years. If I ask for a day off it has to be done 3 months in advance, and even then, there's going to be a greater than 90% chance that they'll call me on my time off and ask me to come in anyway. I'm so done with this pit. Applying for an electrical apprenticeship and this place can kick rocks.

Ken, as an ICU RN it is almost impossible to use all your PTO days. Like work managers won’t sign off on it…I’ve seen it in over 6 hospitals. I’m currently a travel RN not for pay but for flexibility to actually occasionally get requested time off without getting accrued but not accessible PTO. As a traveler I get zero PTO, but I budget for my own time off like I’m self employed.

I manage 20 people and encourage them to take time off. Theyre better employees when they take time for themselves. I let them know often they are valued, feed them breakfast during team meetings, etc. I have only one slacker who exhausts every hour they earn as soon as its earned and then is sick every Monday.

this has been happening for a long time. It's definitely not poor self esteem, I had a job several years ago where 9 months into the job, I asked for a week off. My boss looked at me like I was an alien from outer space. According to their metrics, I had accrued 10 days of PTO, so I thought using half of it would be no big deal. When I did take PTO, I would be frequently called during my time off to come put out fires.

My last job required me to find someone to cover my shift if I was taking vacation days. I felt it was unfair to burden my coworkers with extra work so I could take off. This was the main reason I left this job.

The problem is we don’t get enough vacation time so we make our own

95% of my job consists of phone calls and emails…which are both pretty easy to do from a kayak. 😂

I work for a home builder They expect you to take your phone on vacation and be available I told them no If I’m expected to work on vacation then it’s not a vacation Had to go to HR to fix it

my current company offers "unlimited" vacation. I've been there a year and a half and have not seen my boss take more than 1 or 2 days off in that time which is setting a bad precedent for the department. The rest of the people in my department take very little "official" time off because they all feel they have to follow the boss's example.

Sadly, in many corporate cultures the unspoken message is those who don't take all their PTO are more dedicated. This is toxic. I have been very fortunate and never had to experience this. That said, I see people all the time that do not take all their days. I cannot understand that. Always give 100% to your employer, but don't sacrifice your mental and physical health for them. Not worth it, and in the long run it will amount to nothing. Something else I have come to understand is layoffs are often made by people many pay grades above your manager. You are a position and a salary. When budget cuts come, you will be arbitrarily deleted from a spreadsheet without any concern for how it impacts you, your team, or your department. Sometimes your manager doesn't discover you were laid off until the day it happens and were never consulted in the decision. It's pretty messed up but that is how the corporate world often operates. Always take care of yourself and your family. In the end, it is all you really ever had. The rest is all temporary. God bless! 🙂

I feel like I can’t go on vacation. It has nothing to do with my cash flow and everything to do with my work load

Not taking vacation is a rainy day fund. It's a personal severance account of sorts. Layoffs happen to the best of workers.

Back in the day that would be called what it is: stealing. It's amazing the mental gymnastics people will go through to justify dishonest behavior. And if your company is truly treating you in such a way that compromises your ability to maintain your integrity, then leave the company. And this is coming from someone whose job was stripped way down during Covid to the point I was doing barely two hours worth of actual work most days. I left that job because I felt continuing in it was severely compromising my integrity.

I quiet vacation in the sense that I work remote and sometimes work from vacation locations. I use my normal PTO too

Excellent commentary, Ken.

When I worked at a travel agency I went out of town on the weekends frequently. When they would call me in I decided to not answer my phone.

It’s more about building a life with margin and slowness of pace that doesn’t require vacating from your life to medicate. Love that idea. Unfortunately most of the public school teachers I know fall into this category. Life seems like hell for them 9 months out of the year and those long vacation stretches seem like self medicating sessions. Ouch. If you are miserable Monday through Friday and need the weekend to recover, something is wrong in your life.

Good point it's time to plan your life.

I love your paper asmr 😂

Battle Harbour in Newfoundland deliberately makes the island internet-free. If you want to be out of reach from your boss, I highly recommend it.

Since we're in emergency services/911 at my workplace, we need to meet a minimum staffing level. Due to low pay, high stress, and management issues people always quit the job in high numbers. For the second year in a row now, management has canceled our vacation time unless we can get another co-worker to voluntarily cover it for overtime. I don't know how they can't attract people to this job! (Sarcasm) Earn much-needed time off that you aren't able to take!

Staycations work, too! Just don't be too available to be called in to work.

As a former colleague of mine used to say, "No day off goes unpunished."

I've worked at my employer for 15 years I'm now getting 9 weeks paid vations that includes 9 paid holidays. So 45 paid offs a year

How is this any different from the Disney video? If you know your PTO isn't going to be respected anyway, why not just work from anywhere and get you stuff done while on vacation. They then save the PTO for situations where they absolutely can not attend to their work.

Every other country gets more than double the paid holidays. If everyone can’t get the day off paid, it’s not a holiday. We give our kids crazy expectations because when they are in school they get soo many vacation days. Real world like what 5-6 holidays

I use all my PTO days but not for a beach vaca. It all goes to recuperation from multiple surgeries. I sure would love to have a real vacation.

With every one of the new employee trends that pop up, the more I’m glad my wife and I sold our small 20 person business 2 years ago and retired somewhat early. 15-20 years ago our employees were awesome and we truly treated them like family, where my wife & I would often reschedule our own vacation to accommodate an employee’s special time off request, and most worked there for a very long time. Current hires during the last 5-10 years for the most part are completely entitled nightmares that I do not miss.

When I worked for the DOD. I had a boss who would approve a request for PTO because he didn’t want to have to talk to HR but he would openly tell staff if he could do without you for two weeks for a vacation then are you really needed ? So nobody would use all their PTO.

It’s because there’s not enough pto. 2weeks total is trash. In 2000 I worked for a SUNY school that started us with 2wk vacation you could rollover, 2wk personal use it or lose it, 2wk sick you could rollover. Most jobs- my workers don’t use pto so I give them a useless 1-2wk. Also most jobs- not that day or that day

Alot of it is businesses don't approve time off, the threat of firing prevents workers from filing for vacation,

When i worked where you were allowed to accrue vacation/ PTO, i often tried to save and bank days/ hours to use in case i had some health type of illness or injury.

PTO is "prepare the others". It means I am NOTIFYING YOU that I am going to be off. It's not a request for permission, within reason. The place I work has this dumb rule about only 2 people can be off at once. And it's because they are severely shorthanded. When I bought my house, the mortgage company did not ask what days I could get off work.. they told me the closing date and that was that. My supervisor said she did not know if I could have the day off. I told her that it was not a request.. it was a notification.. I have not had that sort of conversation since that one.

I think this video generalizes the typical American worker too much. There are positive reasons people don’t use their PTO as well. They live a life they don’t have to vacate already, they realize that health is wealth and don’t need to take any sick days, and they use their PTO bank as an additional form of emergency fund. I’m sure there are more

Quite vacationing = extra time off bc I deserve it

Best to plan it out yearly and let the team and boss know. For example a week at the December holidays and individual days in conjunction with National holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor day. or a week with the kids at spring break or summer vacation, etc. I've never had a problem with that.

As millennial I certainly take all of my pto and sick days, I’m a weekend warrior though a lot of the time. It can get hectic on the way back incase of weather or traffic back up.

Hahah i just did this a week before my vaca woo 2 weeks off called in sick😅

I want to be the first to declade that I am the first to come up with the trend "quiet pooping." That's when you go to the bathroom and put your pants down while sitting on the toilet for 30 mins while on the Job to give yourself more pai time off.

Hi Ken - once I hand over my work to a younger employee to back me up while I’m on vacation, my job is pretty much over…. Because he can do it for cheaper, and artificial intelligence or outsourcing…

I don’t blame em as a gen z

I'm a Boomer and have always taken all my vacation days.

There was "leadership" disapproval for taking too much for vacation, all sick days, and heavens forbid FMLA at most of the places ive worked. This said, i often preferred an extra day or two nestled up to regular days off for more re-charges scattered throughout the year.

I get cashed out at the end of the year for hours over a certain amount, it has been as much as an extra paycheck at the end of the year. The number that I keep goes up in value with every raise etc. it also gives me peace of mind that I I lose my job I’ll get that lump sum

It all comes down to professionalism. If you are honest, trustworthy and doing a good job your manager should feel comfortable with you leaving early, showing up late, etc. As long as the work gets done, clients are happy, etc. All about managing yourself and your time efficiently.

I need a seperation between church and state. I have to work and take vacation time when I am vacationing. There is a saying, Absence makes the heart grow fonder. How can people miss you, if you are always in their faces?

Speaking of margin, some people, just like your bank account, don't want to spend all their vacation days because they don't want their account to be zero, in case they need to take time off for an emergency. I think that's a great reason to leave some.

I don't like to take vacation if my wife can't take vacation. The last company my wife worked for it was very hard for my wife to take vacation when she wanted. She used to work in a call center environment.

I accumulate PTO and have changed jobs 2 times within the last 5 years. If I wanted to vacation I will do so on long weekends of 3 days or take one extra for 4 I’ve cashed 2 times around $5k and invested. No need to have 2 weeks vacations when you are broke,” the best place to be when broke is work”

This segment reminds me of how companies don’t offer “unlimited PTO” because they love you and want you to work and play equally hard…..it’s because people statistically use much less PTO when they have no PTO target amount of days to hit. They don’t want to give people more than two weeks of PTO for a full year and would look bad if they only give a single week, so instead they give no target to aim for on the employees’ side and some employers will psychologically make you feel guilty over using PTO, combining those factors people will almost never take days off so that makes sense…. Easy fix…..give people 30 vacation days across the board to show you REALLY care and make those PTO days mandatory within the year. That’s what companies that really care about you would do, but they do the opposite and disguise it as something good! Plus they have no way of “paying out” unlimited PTO, so when they separate from employees that grants them a get out of jail card when it comes to paying out unused PTO.

I once worked for a small family owned company, and whenever someone was sick and called out the owners would comment that they really didn't believe them. I was so afraid of them doing this to me that I would show up for work sick and wait for them to send me home. I had a commute that was over an hour long each way. They told me after I started that I could never take a Friday or a Monday off because that was when the boss would be traveling and he might need me to take care of stuff for him while on the road or from the airport. The owners would also complain if someone left at 5:00 or if they didn't come in and work "extra" on a Saturday. This was the eighties, and everyone was really burned out and stressed all the time.

As long as you put into the system when you will be taking time off and discuss / give a heads up with your manager and have a transition plan with your colleagues, I don't see the reason to be fearful of going on a vacation.

My company has "voluntary" but required volunteer hours so they can take the tax break. However, I was informed if I don't do it--I could be let go. I'm not salaried and half my pay is commission. I can't be earning the commissions during my vto paid hours and they will only compensate me for my piddly hourly wage, (which is way less than the minimum wage in many states) It's a hardship for me as the nonprofits I have checked out in my area require 4 hours a week. Plus, I would have to do the hours in my free time as I work a night shift. I have elderly parents in their mid-eighties I need to visit at least once a week who live an hour away--plus I have two churches that take my time. I simply don't have time to do "voluntary" work to help a company that is already under paying me, and as I'm hourly--it amounts to a pay cut for me.

Some may also want to keep some official amount of PTO time in the bank.

Managers have made taking PTO a pain and a half. Quiet vacationing is the natural consequence when you can't do things in good faith with your employer.

I work way more than 40 hours a week for 8 months of the year on salary with now extra pay so during the 4 months of down time, he just lets me take vacation days without using any of my PTO because he knows that I do great work and work for free quite a bit.

Let me tell you why many people dont take PTO in US. You decide to take 5 days PTO. You will use up your PTO days, pay for travel/accomodation/food/sight seeing etc. Everything is so DAMN expensive. You get added stress, and waste of $. The so called dopamine rush will wear off in 10 minutes because when you come back to office huge pile of work will be waiting for you or you will have to take your laptop with you. (That is NOT vacation). Let's face it only the filthy rich can TRULY afford to go on a REAL vacation. The so-called vacations 99% of people go to in US are sick joke.

I take every single vacation day I have earned! Every one!!!

Another issue is you don’t pay them enough to have a vacation.

All honorably discharged veterans should get E-1 base pay for life or their disability rating, whichever is higher. All 100 percent P&T should automatically get SSDI

I like my job but I take a lot of leave.

By the way, vacations can be planned for in advance and they don’t have to be the most expensive things, depending on where you go or what you do…And don’t forget that there are some who go somewhere, but because of their devices, they can’t disconnect from work, so is it really a “proper” vacation if work is still on your mind? Also, what good are vacations offered by companies if no one actually takes them? Of course, companies have to offer benefits to lure in prospective hires…Maybe the companies should mandate their employees go because it might make for healthier and maybe more productive employees, which in turn benefits the company’s bottom line, perhaps? Or do those things just not matter to companies anymore? Maybe they want to see their employees tense and on edge all the time?

Always ask for days off in anticipation. They're always going to say some baloney or deny it. Take your week off every month and just break it apart. So that you always have time for yourself. Because a man who works all day has no time to make money.😊

Other reasons: Have no one to share my time with, where I am going to go? but when I do I expect to use them and some more

We don't accumulate PTO anymore. We have "unlimited PTO" So I take about 5 to 7 weeks a year off plus all the holiday down time. We also work mostly remote, so I sometimes work from nice locations... ;) Some of the teams are afraid to take more than 2 weeks off a year. BULLS&*&T Take some time off. Take a lot of time off !! If they cut me, great ! I will take the severance and retire. Actually hoping they do.

I had some ex coworkers that never used their PTO.. they never took time off..and then the company was sold and they lost every bit of it. So BE WARNED.. TAKE YOUR PTO!!! I work in healthcare, so I don't have the same type of deadline pressures... we do have a severe SHORTAGE in healthcare and some of the YOUNGER people feel guilty about taking time off and leaving others to carry the load. But as you age, you realize that the company does this on PURPOSE to save money.. TAKE YOUR PTO!!! I only save mine short term to take a real vacation. Otherwise I take a Friday and Monday or more.

I get not using all your PTO. I’m one of those people. Some companies reimburse you at the end of the year for unused PTO. I’ve done this before. Sometimes taking PTO creates more work for you before and after you come back. That also has happened. Something to think about, more so the first point.

I worked in a corporate middle management position for about 15 years. I made a point to use all of my vacation time every year. I worked hard when not on vacation and no one cared that I took it all. I would have 4 weeks a year and would make a point to take a week of each quarter instead of asking for 4 weeks at the end of year during holidays. It is your responsibility to manage your vacation time and not keep putting it off. People trying to take all of December off when everyone else wants time off is a shitty thing to do and will get noticed by others.

I get not taking PTO if you wanna use PTO as rainy day fund but if it's use it or lose it just use it. Not hard people. Also "unlimited " PTO is a legal workaround don't go too a place that claims too have it

This is my boss 100%, absolutely holds it against you if you take a day off, or God forbid you take a half day off on Friday...😮😮😮 The boss also happens to be my dad😂😂😂

people don’t take PTO because they want it banked for personal things like added maternity, family emergencies, etc

So I think there is some really bad culture in some of these companies. Bosses would rather half butt menial tasks being done than giving employees time off. At my job, I know for a fact I'm doing excellent work and because I do excellent work nobody has a problem with me clocking out on time or with taking PTO. Not that I'm taking 'quiet vacation' or refuse to work 1 minute past, but I know that I'm in good standing and shouldn't be worried

What is 'quiet vacation'?!

Even if you're an average worker, vacation is earned time off! No matter if your liked or not!

We can donate our unused time to someone who is out due to illnesses and is no longer getting paid because they used up their time

If it can be done remotely, nothing wrong with it! Work until 5 and head to the beach

Ken is freaking dreaming, he should ask every caller how much PTO they leave on the table.

You won't have that problem with a good ol' union job lol. I am the opposite, I DON'T want to use my vacation and sick-pay if I can avoid it. I am also a good old-fashioned Gen-X'er, so then there's that........

"is this you?" - I don't think so. I'm white, but not a white sheet of paper, Ken.

I am too busy making money to vacation. So not broke. Is there a connection?

I would fire someone who doesn't use their time off.

I've known employees who needed the vacation payout to make ends meet so they rather have the payout then take the time off.

I think you really need to go and work at a normal business for 6-12 months, not a RU-vid thing, and confirm your attitudes towards workers.

My Monday-Friday would be nice too if I was a well paid talk show host.

First mistake is to get a job - rich people don't have JOBS ! LOLOLOLOL

This issue like many, brought to you by boomers

Aren’t most gen z folks being raised by millennials?

You lost me when you said genz is amazing. I hate them as much as boomers

Stupidity keeps saying participation trophy to millennials. I am 42 years old and a manager, they are my team, not the other way around.

Every work from home job is a part time 15-20 hour jobs those office jockeys taking advantage of the real workers gettinf the job done in person