I'm a quiet vacationer. Here's how I used a mouse jiggler to take a monthlong trip to Italy without telling my boss.

25.07.2024 - 12:41 / insider.com

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with an employee who has been on a "quiet vacation," which refers to taking time off without using PTO. The interviewee requested anonymity to protect their employment. Business Insider has verified their identity, employment, and travel with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I consider myself to be a motivated person, but at my current job, I don't have to work hard to get the tasks done.

I studied a social science at university and joined a San Francisco tech company around three years ago. I'm based in Europe and mostly work from home. Within a few months on the job, I noticed the company's expectations were much lower than what I could perform at.

My team manages a database. It's not rocket science and involves a lot of copying and pasting, so I have a lot of free time.

Three years into the job, I feel like I got sucked into a corporation that doesn't care about its employees. They introduced an RTO policy last year. When I found out, I was furious. I often find ways to avoid coming in even though I'm supposed to.

I became a "quiet quitter," doing the bare minimum to finish a task and push it off my desk.

I've also started "quiet vacationing," which is when your employer is under the impression you're working but you're secretly taking time off. It started with taking some time away here and there and culminated in a monthlong trip to Italy, which I only used one week of PTO for.

I want to keep quiet vacationing in the future. Traditional expectations around working 9-to-5 are outdated, and it's good to see employees taking back their time.

I typically work between one to three hours a day, depending on the amount of meetings I have.

Related stories

Many of my colleagues fudge our tasks, choosing to do the smallest amount possible to get them done. The only exception for me is when something is important to my boss or their friends. Then I'll do a better job.

During the day, I'll do everything but my job. I'll do chores or go to the grocery store, play video games, and call friends and family. If I meet a friend after work, I'll leave early and check the company's messaging platform on my way.

No one at the company has ever raised suspicion that I'm not doing enough work, and I usually get rave reviews in appraisals.

There are certain ways to attract positive attention from managers without doing much. I try to ask good questions in meetings to show I'm engaged and post often on our messaging platform. It can be as simple as flagging something or posting a gentle reminder, and people think you're on your A-game. Reacting to messages with an emoji also shows you're paying attention, even if you don't