A ‘hush trip’ is where remote employees work from a vacation destination without telling their employer.
To find out how popular this act is among younger employees, in July, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 918 GenZers who currently work remotely or hybrid.
Key findings:
- 44% of GenZ workers surveyed have taken a ‘hush trip’
- 57% of hush trip takers gave the impression they were still working normal hours
- 65% used a virtual background to trick employers
- One-third worked 2 hours or less per day
- Majority weren’t found out and/or suffered no consequences
4 in 10 GenZer workers have taken a ‘hush trip’
Forty-four percent of GenZers surveyed say they have taken a vacation without their employer’s permission, and many have done it more than once. Two percent of respondents said they have taken a hush trip many times, while 21% say a few times, and 21% only once.
Similarly, 62% of respondents say they have used a sick day as a vacation day.
1 in 3 worked 2 hours or less per day
More than half of hush trip takers (57%) say they gave the impression that they were still working normal hours when they really were not.
In fact, only 14% say they still worked 7+ hour days. On the other hand, 4% say they worked less than an hour, 28% 1-2 hours, 30% 3-4 hours, and 23% 5-6 hours.
Additionally, of those who tried to keep up appearances of working a full day, 65% say they used a virtual background to fool their employer. In fact, the vast majority (82%) who used a virtual background say they used a picture of their home workspace.
“If an employee feels the need to take a ‘hush trip’, it’s a clear indication of a deeper issue that needs to be addressed,” says Bart Waldon, Managing Partner at Land Boss.
“As a business leader, I believe honesty is the bedrock of any productive workplace. I’ve heard of a couple of instances where employees have taken ‘hush trips’. However, I firmly assert that it’s never acceptable to mislead your team about your availability. Trust is a two-way street; employers trust employees to carry out their responsibilities, and employees trust employers to respect their time and efforts.”
Half took a hush trip because their vacation request was denied
About half (51%) of those who took an undisclosed trip say they did so because their request was not approved. Additionally, 27% say they didn’t have any PTO to use, and 20% didn’t want to use PTO.
Hush trip takers mostly traveled to another state for vacation (51%), but 33% say they stayed in their state, while 17% left the country.
Peter Michaels, CEO of Yeespy, feels these survey results suggest a problem with the way PTO is handled.
“Businesses must foster a work climate where staff members feel free to request PTO when necessary and can take time off as needed,” Michaels says. “Companies may need to review their PTO policies to ensure staff have enough options to take breaks and recharge without worrying about consequences or being refused time off.”
45% of ‘hush trip’ takers got away with it
Overall, 41% of hush trip takers say their employer found out, while 45% say the employer did not and 14% are unsure.
Of those who were discovered, the majority did suffer some consequences, including being reprimanded (71%) or fired (7%).
Methodology
This survey was commissioned by ResumeBuilder.com and conducted online by the survey platform Pollfish. It was launched on July 20, 2023. In total, 916 18-26 year old participants were surveyed. To qualify for the survey all participants had to pass through screening questions to ensure they are currently employed and fully or partially remotely.
To avoid bias from this component Pollfish employs Random Device Engagement (RDE) to ensure both random and organic surveying. Learn more about Pollfish’s survey methodology or contact [email protected] for more information.
