'Quiet vacationing': Are your employees working remotely from holiday locations?

A new workplace trend dubbed as "quiet vacationing" is making its rounds across Australia as the country enters its winter season.

Quiet vacationing is a practice where employees take advantage of the flexibility of their job to work from holiday destinations without notifying their employers, according to Robert Half director Nicole Gorton.

In Australia, Robert Half's findings revealed that 12% out of 1,000 full-time office workers have already practiced quiet vacationing in the past - with Gen Z staff most likely to do this (17%).

Another 33% of the respondents are also considering working remotely from a holiday destination, with Gen Zs remaining in the lead for being the most likely to think about it (40%).

On the other hand, 55% of employees consider quiet vacationing as a "step too far" and would not do it, nor consider doing it in the future.

How will their employers react?

According to the report, employees are divided on how they believe their bosses would react if they were found remotely working from a holiday destination.

More than a third of the respondents (36%) believe their employer would likely do nothing about it as long as their work was done. For others, they believe:

• Their employer would feel trust has been broken but there would be no further consequences (28%)
• They would receive a formal warning or disciplinary action if they were found out (28%)
• Their employment contract would be terminated (7%)

Reasons for 'quiet vacationing'

However, despite more than a quarter of employees feeling concerned that working remotely from holiday destinations can have repercussions, 53% believe that quiet vacationing is simply tapping into the benefits of remote work. Other reasons why employees practice quiet vacationing include:

• Saving money rather than take an unpaid leave (42%)
• Having the ability to extend their holiday (36%)
• Boosting their productivity (27%)
• Fearing that their employer will not approve their holidays (25%)

"Companies should analyse the motivations behind 'quiet vacationing' so that employees don't feel the need to do so," Gorton said. "By understanding employees' reasons, employers can create more supportive and flexible work environments while also setting clear expectations and boundaries to avoid potential misconduct."