Summer may be marketed as a season for holidays and relaxation, but new research suggests the urge to step away from work is affecting people at every level of the corporate ladder.
Employees are not the only ones finding creative ways to spend more time away from their desks.
Managers and senior managers are also admitting that they sometimes invent reasons to take an unexpected day off, suggesting that the summer productivity problem may be more widespread than employers would like to acknowledge.
A survey of 2,000 managers and senior managers by software company PDFFly found that half of those in management admitted to using excuses to get additional time away from work during the summer.
Bosses Suspect Workers Are Faking Their Way to Time Off
The research also exposed an uncomfortable contradiction among managers.
About 85% of managers surveyed said they believed employees were making up excuses to secure extra time away from work during the summer.
Yet around half acknowledged that they were doing essentially the same thing themselves.
The excuses are remarkably similar across the workplace hierarchy.
Managers suspect workers of claiming that their internet connection has stopped working, inventing medical or dental appointments, or calling in sick when they simply want additional time away from their jobs.
But when managers described their own tactics, “sick” days topped the lis
. Other strategies included overstating family responsibilities, pretending to have an appointment and blaming a technical problem.
Some Managers Simply Log In and Do Nothing
The survey also revealed an even more unusual approach to beating the summer workload.
Nearly one in 10 managers said they do not bother inventing an excuse at all.
Instead, they log into work but effectively do nothing.
That finding highlights how difficult it can be for companies to distinguish between employees who are genuinely working remotely and those who are technically online while mentally checked out.
While occasional downtime may not necessarily damage a business, the cumulative effect appears to be showing up in productivity figures.
Summer Output Is Taking a Noticeable Hit
Six in 10 managers surveyed said they had seen productivity decline during the summer months.
For 18% of respondents, the reduction was significant, while another 42% described the decline as slight.
Meanwhile, 37% said their organizations had experienced productivity drops of more than 10%.
The consequences are not always minor. Around one-third of managers said the summer slowdown had become serious enough for their company to lose a client or miss out on a business deal.
That suggests the issue extends beyond employees taking a few unofficial days in the sun.
For some companies, reduced availability and engagement can have a direct financial impact.
Millennials Have Their Own Way of Escaping the Office
Managers are not alone in finding ways to create unofficial holidays.
Research into “quiet vacationing” has found that nearly four in 10 millennials have secretly taken time off without formally informing their employers.
Instead of completely disconnecting, these workers typically take their work phones with them and check in periodically to make their absence less obvious.
The practice allows employees to enjoy time away while maintaining the appearance that they remain available.
Research from Resume Builder found that 43% of quiet vacationers take up to three days away from work at a time, while another quarter reported taking an entire working week.
Medical Leave Has Become Another Point of Debate
Some workers have taken the concept of unofficial time off considerably further by using medical leave to step away from their jobs for extended periods.
In some circumstances, medical leave can provide workers with job protection and potentially paid time away, depending on their circumstances and applicable workplace policies.
The practice has generated controversy, particularly among workers who openly discuss using leave as an extended break.
However, other employees describe the option very differently, arguing that protected time away from work can be crucial when they are dealing with serious personal or mental-health challenges.
That distinction is important because not every worker using medical leave is attempting to exploit an employer. For some, having protected time away from a stressful workplace can be an essential safety net.
Fear May Be Driving the Secret Holidays
The research behind quiet vacationing suggests that the behavior may have less to do with laziness than employers assume.
Two in five workers surveyed said they were worried that requesting time off could damage their standing at work.
That fear may encourage employees to take holidays secretly rather than risk being viewed as less committed.
The result is a workplace paradox: employees may be physically or digitally present because they are afraid to ask for a legitimate break, while simultaneously becoming less productive because they are exhausted or disengaged.
The Real Problem May Be Workplace Culture
The similarities between managers and employees point to a larger issue.
If both groups believe they need excuses to step away from work, the problem may not simply be that people are abusing flexible working arrangements.
It could indicate that workers at different levels do not feel comfortable taking the time off they are entitled to.
Secret holidays, unexplained sick days and managers quietly disappearing from their laptops can all be symptoms of the same underlying problem: a workplace culture where taking a break is viewed negatively.
Rather than focusing solely on catching employees who are away from their desks, companies may need to examine whether workers feel genuinely comfortable using their allotted vacation time.
What’s Next for Employers?
The summer productivity slump could force businesses to rethink how they measure performance and manage annual leave.
Employers that treat every absence as a potential sign of poor commitment may unintentionally encourage workers to hide their vacations.
By contrast, clearer expectations around time off, reasonable workloads and a culture that treats rest as normal could reduce the incentive for employees to work around the rules.
Managers also have a role to play. If senior staff routinely take unofficial breaks while expecting employees to remain constantly available, it can create resentment and undermine workplace trust.
Summary
The latest research paints a picture of a workplace where employees and managers alike are quietly looking for ways to escape the summer grind.
Half of surveyed managers admitted to using excuses for extra time away, even as 85% suspected their employees were doing the same. At the same time, six in 10 managers reported a summer productivity decline, with some businesses suffering missed deals or lost clients.
Meanwhile, quiet vacationing remains common among millennials, while some workers are turning to protected medical leave when they need longer periods away.
Ultimately, the trend may reveal less about workers wanting to avoid work and more about employees feeling uncomfortable asking for the breaks they need. When people believe they cannot safely take time off, they may find ways to disappear anyway.
