Why are employees still taking “quiet vacations” in 2025—even when PTO is available? It’s not laziness. It’s fear. The quiet vacations trend—where employees secretly unplug while appearing “online”—has re-emerged as a cultural alarm bell. Although it began as a pushback against hustle culture, today’s version reveals a deeper issue: a lack of psychological safety. When workers feel unsafe asking for rest, they don’t stop needing it. They just hide it. And that has major implications for engagement, trust, and performance.
What Drives Employees to Take Quiet Vacations?
Many employees, especially Gen Z and Millennials, still feel they’ll be penalized for taking time off. In fact, a recent Harris Poll revealed that 78% of workers avoid using all their PTO due to fear of being seen as uncommitted. Some are even canceling vacations or pretending to be sick just to get a mental break. With over 8 million layoffs in 2025 so far, the fear of being replaced is real. And so, “quiet vacationing” becomes a coping strategy—one rooted not in entitlement, but in anxiety.
“Quiet Vacations” Reveal a Deeper Cultural Problem
According to workplace psychologist Dr. Marais Bester, quiet vacations are a symptom of broken workplace trust. Employees jiggle their mouse, stay off camera, and check emails just enough to appear “present”—not because they’re lazy, but because they don’t feel safe resting. And when leaders ignore these signals, burnout becomes normalized. Bester urges employers to stop rewarding hyper-availability and start modeling real rest. “Rested people do better work,” he says. “If your team feels they must fake wellness, your culture needs fixing—not your people.”
How Leaders Can Fix the “Quiet Vacations” Culture
Business leaders need to shift from passive permission to active encouragement of rest. That means taking time off visibly, building systems that make it easy to unplug, and viewing unused PTO as a warning—not a win. Teams thrive when leaders normalize boundaries and demonstrate that recovery isn’t weakness—it’s readiness. Organizations like Accenture and SHL are already rethinking PTO policies to reduce fear and build healthier, high-trust teams. Because real engagement doesn’t come from working nonstop—it comes from working well.
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