Go Away: Are Leaders Taking a Holiday or Are They ‘Quiet Working’?

We’re at the end of summer, which means, among other things, holidays wrapping up. According to one study, nearly half of all Brits were planning to travel this summer. That’s a good thing, as there’s enormous benefit to taking time off work, to travelling generally and taking a break from your routine. That might seem obvious to most: yes, a holiday is good for you. And yet, so many leaders and senior managers struggle to take real holiday. In fact, they are ‘quiet working’. And not only is it bad for them, it’s bad for their teams. In fac, I wrote recently in Psychology Today about the fact that I think the new trend in quiet vacationing is directly linked to quiet working.

Did you really take a holiday? If you didn’t, expect to see more quiet vacationing among your team.

If you don’t know the term, ‘quiet vacationing’ describes when a worker reports they are working but actually they’re on holiday. (Maybe not on a beach in Hawaii, but more like having a mental health day in Brighton.) This has obviously become easier to do as remote work has increased. That’s not to suggest that most people who work remotely are not working, but it is easier to pretend to be working when you’re not in the office.

Quite a bit of the conversation about quiet vacationing has centred around why workers are doing it, how to catch them, how to stop them, and—to speak frankly–whether to sack them. I believe the dialogue needs to start with the managers and other leaders of those teams. Are you quiet working? Quiet working is the opposite of quiet vacationing: you say you’re on holiday but secretly you are checking in on email, taking an ‘occasional’ meeting, and accepting invites for future calls. (Quiet working is also sometimes referred to as ‘planned workationers’ which I hope dies a quick death as both a term and a practice.)

If you are guilty of quiet working this summer, recognise the knock-on effects it has.

Quiet working might have seemed noble at one time. Many of today’s leaders are Gen X, and they grew up observing the 1980s ‘work hard, play hard’ culture. For many, this actually was a lesson in how not to work and Gen X is known for embracing a work-life balance. But. There was for a long time a negative association with career advancement at the highest levels and taking time off. By which I mean taking it off properly, pens down, true holiday style.

This quiet working behaviour Is therefore just as problematic, if not more so, than quiet vacationing. I say worse because it’s bad for the person who should be on holiday. You need the break mentally and physically away from work. Ideally, you also need the time with family or friends or even solo to recharge and refresh. Neither of those happen fully if you keep waking up the work part of your brain.

Quiet working blurs the boundaries between work and rest, leading to burnout and decreased productivity. It also reflects a corporate culture where employees feel they must always be a bit ‘on’ even during their time off. When leaders engage in quiet working, it sends a message that disconnecting from work is a luxury rather than a necessity. This perpetuates a cycle where true rest and relaxation are devalued, and the quality of work suffers as a result. Instead of quiet working, leaders should model the importance of taking a complete break from work. This not only respects the boundaries of personal time but also encourages employees to fully recharge, leading to a more engaged and productive workforce.

Quiet working and quiet vacationing signals a lack of trust from both sides.

When you are quiet working, you’re not fooling your team. They will see you replying to emails or joining in a Zoom call. You may be harking back to the days of ‘when the cat’s way, the mice will play’. That’s frankly a bit demeaning to everyone. Your team shouldn’t live in fear of their manager. And leaders should have confidence in their teams.

Quiet vacationing and quiet working stem from a lack of trust. Employees feel they can’t be honest about their need for time off. Leaders signal that they don’t trust their teams enough to fully step away. Or, they are too insecure about being able to upwardly manage their own leadership team. Imagine what this says to your next-gen leadership: in order to fully recognise your career growth here, you should work even when you’re on holiday. Building a culture of trust where employees feel secure in taking time off and leaders are confident in their teams’ ability to manage in their absence is crucial for everyone. Holidays lead to better productivity in the long run, and that benefits the organisation.

Take your holiday. And really go away.

Organisations should create a culture that values rest and recognises the importance of fully disconnecting from work. This could involve clear policies about time off, setting expectations that holidays are meant to be fully utilised, and ensuring that managers lead by example.

One trend I’ve noticed among some (forward-thinking, real holiday types) is to set a more explicit out-of-office message, citing the health benefits of truly taking time off. Before your next holiday, consider drafting an email to your team outlining how they can reach you if absolutely necessary but encouraging them not to. Let them know they don’t need to check in with you, signalling that you trust your team and setting an example for how to take a proper holiday. This promotes a healthier work culture, demonstrates strong leadership and fosters trust.

As we reach the end of summer, it’s worth reflecting: Did you take a holiday? And did you quiet work during it? If you did, why? What does that say about you, the culture of your organisation or perhaps both? A proper holiday is essential for your mental and physical well-being. Ironically, some leaders need to build more discipline around less work. And remember that for all of us, engagement improves when we occasionally disconnect.

This article first appeared on The Robert Kovach Blog.

Dr. Robert Kovach has spent his entire career working as a trusted advisor to senior leaders wanting to improve the effectiveness of themselves, their teams and their companies. Prior to starting his own consulting firm, Robert led the global executive assessment and development team for Cisco. Earlier in his career Robert held leadership roles with RHR International, PepsiCo, Ashridge Executive Education, Hult International Business School and the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.