Ghost Vacationers Risk Getting Caught While Perfecting Slack Slack-Offs

KEY POINTS

•Amanda Augustine warns ghost vacationing during December off-times damages trust and team morale severely.
•More than 40% of US workers don’t use all their paid time off, says a 2023 Pew survey.
•Peter Duris suggests bosses reduce workload during holidays to deter staff from sneaky downtime.

On February 12, 2025, beachgoers in Fort Lauderdale were living their best warm-weather dreams, unlike office workers caught mid-spirit with a phenomenon called 'ghost vacationing.' Career guru Amanda Augustine from TopResume warns that this sneaky shutdown of productivity—called by some as secretly toggling out while your Slack stays on—can wreck trust worse than a last-minute client email on December 31. More than 40% of US workers leave vacation days unused, according to Pew, but trying to play Houdini with work hours only fuels bitterness among hardworking mates forced to cover. Peter Duris, Kickresume CEO, diplomatically recommends bosses just lighten workloads instead of pretending their staff are actual adults. So, if you want a real vacay, negotiate the break like a grown-up, or prepare for morale to nosedive faster than your invisible presence in Zoom calls.