Prefer to 'quietly go out' instead of asking for leave

Young workers don't take time off because they feel pressured to meet deadlines and be productive - Photo: BestColleges.com

That’s according to a new Harris Poll survey of 1,170 workers in the US. A majority, about 78% of US workers surveyed, say they don’t use all of their paid vacation days. The rate is highest among Gen Z and millennials.

Don't want to take leave but still have to work

Libby Rodney, strategy director at The Harris, said young workers said they didn’t take time off because they felt pressure to meet deadlines and be productive. At the same time, they were nervous about applying for paid time off because they didn’t want to look like slackers.

That doesn't mean they work day in and day out without taking a break. They just don't tell their boss.

Millennials, in particular, are the group most likely to “quietly go out.” Nearly four in 10 say they have quit without telling their manager.

Gen Z: People born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s.

Millennials: People born between 1982 and 1994.

While not actually working, millennials occasionally move their mouse to show people they're still active on company messaging platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams, the shares said.

They also schedule messages to be sent outside of regular business hours, to “check in,” showing they are working overtime.

“There’s a culture of problem-solving going on,” Rodney says. While Gen Z tends to be more willing to speak up and take time off, millennials tend to deal with problems privately, avoiding attention.

“They will find a way to get the right work-life balance, but it happens behind the scenes. It’s not so much a silent departure, but more like a secret vacation,” Rodney adds.

Need to build a culture of paid leave

According to Rodney, when people feel the need to sneak off on vacation, it's a sign that their workplace doesn't have a culture of paid time off, or isn't viewed in a healthy way.

Employers can ease the stress around employee leave in a number of ways, she added. They can be more transparent about how time off is requested, normalize paid leave, support employees when they request time off, and provide certain amounts of time off.

Unlimited paid leave isn't necessarily the solution. Rodney says workers who receive 11 to 15 days of paid leave per year are more likely to use them all. However, there's a significant drop-off when people get 16 or more days.

Instead, employers can get creative with their paid time off benefits.

For example, allowing the entire company to shut down for a week on major holidays, paying new employees to take vacations before starting work, or requiring employees to take a certain number of days off each quarter to measure how much time off they take throughout the year.

More broadly, many Americans in the survey said the United States should adopt laws common in Europe to make boundaries around work hours and personal time more effective.

This includes extended leave policies, such as a month off in August; longer lunch breaks, shorter 40-hour workweeks, and protections to allow for slower response times outside of working hours.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thich-lang-lang-di-choi-thay-vi-xin-nghi-phep-20240523050113475.htm