4 Reasons Why the Hush-Cation Phenomenon Is On the Rise Among Remote Workers

The “hush movement” continues to grow amongst telecommuters across the country as they proceed to seek out risk-averse tricks to mix telecommuting with their desire for workplace flexibility.

First it was “quiet stopping” and “Resentment,” followed by Coffee Badge– a workaround that distant employees use to avoid returning to the office. Employees stay within the office long enough to drink a cup of coffee and earn an imaginary badge, then go home to get work done.

When employees are called back to the office, many protest subtly by complying with the request as briefly as possible. Then there was Shadow politics wherein dubious managers secretly allow work at home – even when official company policy requires employees to be present within the office. And Shadow IT where employees secretly use unauthorized artificial intelligence since it is more convenient and faster.

Why “hush-cations” are on the rise

Now there’s a growing trend of distant employees that goes against the old adage, “Never mix work and pleasure.” Younger employees are secretly vacationing without logging off or telling their employers their location. But does it really matter where you’re employed, so long as you set within the hours and get your work done? Maybe. Why else would “hush-cations” be so secret and on the rise this summer? According to RVshareSecret vacations, also referred to as “hush trips,” have gotten increasingly common amongst telecommuters who take secret vacations while continuing to work from a lounger by the pool or at a campsite within the mountains.

This is a drastic turnaround from only a 12 months ago, when the vast majority of Americans forwent any form of vacation because of economic reasons and what their employers thought. That’s over. In 2024, more employees are working from somewhere apart from home, sneaking in a vacation without calling in sick, they usually do not feel the necessity to reveal their whereabouts. On the surface, this may increasingly appear to be distant employees are slacking off and making the most of their flexible schedules. But are they really?

I asked this query to Ed Thompson, founder and CEO of Uptimewho told me, “The point of remote work should be to ‘get the work done.’ If the employee is working to achieve their goals in a remote setting, their specific context or location should not matter.”

According to RVshare, 56% of working adults say they’re very or extremely prone to take a hush trip. By 2023, 36% of Generation X and Millennials, just about all of whom have distant jobs, had already planned to take one. There are no less than 4 good the reason why distant employees think a hush trip is a great idea:

1. By combining work and pleasure, teleworkers are more productive of their free time because they’re more relaxed, clear-headed and artistic.
2. From a telecommuter’s perspective, so long as employees keep on with their working hours and get their work done, it doesn’t matter whether or not they’re lounging at their workplace at home or on the beach of a tropical island.
3. Some advocates imagine that “hush-cations” may very well be an antidote to burnout and will even help retain work life so teleworkers don’t quit their jobs.
4. Proponents imagine that “hush-cations” have the potential to spice up teleworkers’ morale and contribute to a greater work-life balance.

Taking secret vacation days could appear contrary to the spirit and facts of an employment contract, however it is price asking, “Why is this happening?” So I asked Thompson, writer of A hidden power“What’s going on here?” He responded with one other query: “Are people feeling burned out?” Of course, the reply is a convincing yes, in keeping with the just-released results from MyPerfectResume Burnout survey for workers 20% take into consideration quitting their job every single day, and 88% of employees say they’re burned out at work.

“Burnout is common but underestimated. Employees may feel they need time to recover, but this is not really understood by managers and colleagues,” he says. “In our work, we have found that a potentially significant cause of burnout is a workplace that is not suitable for all neurotypes. Traditionally, many organizations have created environments that inadvertently exclude the talents of some of their employees.” He states that 15 to twenty percent of individuals could also be neurodivergent indirectly, but points out that many are uncomfortable disclosing their neuroidentity.”

“For example, I spoke to an autistic engineer who was experiencing burnout symptoms at the end of a long meeting, but when he tried to explain this to his colleagues, his concerns fell on deaf ears. Due to cultural ignorance, neurodiverse workers such as those with autism, ADHD, and dyslexia often feel like they have to expend a lot of energy hiding their neurodivergence. Not surprisingly, this makes them particularly vulnerable to burnout. If companies take steps to prevent burnout, employees may not feel the need to take time off.”

A “silent trip” or a “guilt trip” this summer?

Last 12 months Owl Labs conducted a study of two,050 full-time employees within the U.S. and located that there are differences between how managers and distant employees feel about productivity. The results showed that 60% of managers are concerned that employees are less productive when working remotely, while 62% of employees say they feel more productive when working remotely. The survey found that 55% of employees said they work more hours when working remotely than within the office. In addition, 83% of distant employees said they “feel” like they’re acting at the identical or higher level than they were within the office.

These results reflect the various views employers and employees have on distant work and productivity. Add in a vacation, and it is easy to see the potential risk of a “hush-cation” from an employer’s perspective. Perhaps one of the best solution is a win-win situation with a boss who gives you her blessing because she knows you may get the job done and do it well.

In fact, some teleworkers were doing “hush-cations” before they even had a reputation, According to Laura Ray, “As someone who has been an unwitting participant in this phenomenon for as long as I’ve been working from home – give or take eight years – I can assure you that the best time to take a ‘silent trip’ is summer.” To be completely honest, I need to confess that I wrote this text while on a two-week “silent vacation” on the beaches of Saint Helena Island, South Carolina. Psst.