Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
- Quiet vacationing reflects a shift towards work-life integration, where employees have more control over when and where they work, while still delivering results.
- It’s part of a broader movement that includes quiet quitting and the Great Resignation, signaling a desire for better work conditions and boundaries.
- Managers should focus on outcomes and trust employees to manage their time, rather than micromanage their location.
The workplace is constantly evolving, and with it, new buzzwords emerge to capture shifting employee behaviors.
Last summer, “quiet vacationing” made headlines — a term often misinterpreted as employees secretly taking time off without notifying their employers. Some critics framed it as a sign of disengagement, an abuse of remote work policies, or a failure of workplace culture.
Others saw it as evidence of eroding trust between employees and organizations.
But what if these assumptions miss the bigger picture entirely?
Understanding Quiet Vacationing Differently
The idea that quiet vacationing is a problem that needs solving is based on outdated views of work, rather than the modern realities of a flexible, hybrid workforce.
What if employees choosing to work from anywhere — whether at home, in another city, or halfway across the world — is neither deceptive nor unprofessional, but a natural evolution of the work-from-anywhere culture?
Rather than seeing it as a red flag, organizations should recognize it as another step toward a new agreement between employees and employers regarding autonomy and accountability.
The conversation surrounding quiet vacationing feels familiar — it echoes the one that emerged around quiet quitting, where employees established firm boundaries and chose not to overextend beyond their official roles.
Much like discovering an employee has been working from Europe without informing their manager, quiet quitting was initially met with resistance.
Both trends were framed as threats to traditional workplace norms. But in reality, neither represents an abandonment of work; they reflect the ongoing shift toward work-life integration, where employees expect more control over their time and location.
From the Great Resignation to Work-From-Anywhere
To fully grasp this shift, we must look back at the Great Resignation and the Great Reshuffle, two major trends that redefined employee expectations.
The pandemic was a wake-up call, reminding workers that their time is valuable and should be spent meaningfully. This led to mass resignations, as employees left unfulfilling jobs to seek roles that aligned with their values.
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At first, employees needed to quit to make a change — the Great Resignation. Then, they began renegotiating better conditions without leaving—ushering in the Great Reshuffle.
Soon, quiet quitting followed, signaling employees’ attempts to set new boundaries with their current employers.
Now, quiet vacationing is the latest iteration of this movement.
It’s not about employees sneaking time off but rather taking full advantage of the autonomy that remote work offers — working productively while choosing where they do it.
Managing a Work-From-Anywhere Workforce
Quiet vacationing is not a sign of disengagement; rather, it reflects an evolved understanding of productivity.
Employees seeking balance and well-being are often more committed in the long run, ensuring they remain engaged and effective contributors.
This is not a breakdown of work ethic, but a shift toward a model where employees deliver results while maintaining autonomy over how and where they work.
For managers, this means adapting their leadership approach.
The work-from-anywhere model requires a shift in mindset — one that focuses on defining work outcomes, setting expectations around availability, and establishing guidelines for collaboration.
Managers still have the right to set boundaries and define presence expectations, but once those expectations are met, the location of an employee should matter far less.
If an employee is available, productive, and engaged, does it really matter whether they’re working from their home office or a café in Rome?
Rethinking the “Quiet” Trends
In this context, quiet vacationing is not about dishonesty or avoidance — it’s about employees asserting control over their work-life balance in a way that previous generations never could.
It sends a clear message: once employees meet their job responsibilities, organizations shouldn’t dictate every aspect of how they manage their time and energy.
The rise of quiet trends — quiet quitting, quiet vacationing, and likely more to come — is not about reducing productivity or disengagement. It’s about reshaping work to fit life, rather than the other way around.
The fundamental shift is recognizing that employees are no longer willing to be micromanaged but instead want to be trusted to deliver results in ways that work best for them.
Instead of viewing quiet vacationing as a workplace challenge, leaders should see it as an opportunity — to redefine flexibility, foster trust, and create environments where productivity and well-being can coexist. As the world of work continues to evolve, organizations that embrace this shift will be the ones that thrive.
