The Blubber

Paid days off from work aren’t a guarantee for many Americans, and even when they do get them, they often leave them unused.

A new Harris Poll survey of 1,170 American workers found that 78% of U.S. employees don’t take all their paid time off (PTO) days, with the highest percentages among Gen Z workers and millennials.

Younger professionals often don’t ask for time off because they feel pressured to meet deadlines and be productive. They also get nervous about requesting PTO because they don’t want to appear lazy, according to Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll.

However, that doesn’t mean they’re not taking breaks—they’re just not informing their boss.

Millennials Are Most Likely to Be 'Quiet Vacationing'

Millennials, in particular, have found ways to take time off without officially communicating it to their managers. Nearly 4 in 10 say they’ve taken time off without informing their boss.

Similarly, many millennials use tricks such as moving their mouse to appear active on company messaging platforms (like Slack or Microsoft Teams) when they’re not working, or scheduling messages to be sent outside of regular hours to give the impression they’re working overtime.

“There’s a giant workaround culture at play,” Rodney says. While Gen Zers tend to be more vocal about workplaces that shame people for wanting to take time off, millennials prefer to quietly manage their work-life balance.

“They will figure out how to get appropriate work-life balance, but it’s happening behind the scenes,” Rodney adds. “It’s not exactly quiet quitting, but more like quiet vacationing.”

The Pitfalls of Unlimited PTO

When employees feel the need to sneak away for breaks, it’s a sign that their workplace lacks a supportive PTO system or culture, Rodney says.

Bosses can alleviate this tension by being more transparent about the process for requesting time off, normalizing taking PTO by doing so themselves, supporting their employees when they take time off, and mandating a certain amount of time off.

Unlimited PTO isn’t necessarily the solution. Rodney notes that workers who receive 11 to 15 days of PTO each year are more likely to use all their days, but there’s a significant drop-off once people get 16 or more days.