I Tried a (Boss-Approved) “Quiet Vacation”

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I never set out to take a “quiet vacation.” But, then again, the travel phenomenon seems born out of necessity, not desire.

I’m someone who is proud to take time off. I’m passionate about my work, yes, but I’m mindful about balancing it with rest. If there is a set amount of paid time off, I will use every last minute, and whenever I’m out, I do a fair job silencing any internal stress or guilt I might feel as the unread emails accumulate.

The quiet vacationing travel trend is in direct opposition to those values. A byproduct of the remote work that became so common during and after the pandemic, quiet vacationing refers to the act of working on vacation, without telling any colleagues or superiors about said vacation. Someone on a quiet vacation might, for example, bring their laptop to the pool or answer Slack messages in between spa appointments. Essentially, it’s a way to microdose disconnection.

But can work and vacation truly coexist in such close proximity? Is working from paradise that much better, or, at the end of the day, is it still work? It has to be better than working from my two-bedroom, I presumed. At least that’s how I felt before I decided to test out the trend during a recent trip to Bali.

It was actually a press trip tied to the opening of the new Sacred River Spa at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan. I also ended the trip with a few nights at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay.

Because I was there on assignment, however, I would still have to work. (I know, I know, you feel so sorry for me.) I would be very far away in a very different time zone, but this time, I couldn’t ignore my emails. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy.

The flight to Bali coincided with the weekend, so I didn’t have to worry about checking in en route, but when I finally arrived at the hotel on Monday evening, my colleagues back home were just beginning their day. I ordered room service and edited a few articles as I ate a margherita pizza. I was so jet lagged and wiped from the travel that I had to call it after just a few hours.

For the remainder of the week, I fell into a bit of a routine. Each day’s pre-planned itinerary would consist of excursions and treatments taking place largely throughout the afternoon. I’d “sandwich” my day with work: a few hours in the morning, either from the breakfast table or in my room, and then a few hours in the evening after dinner. Unless I was off-site, I’d also typically check in around lunch. Shoutout to my Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones ($429), which would help me tap in and focus during those packed-in working hours.

On one particularly memorable occasion, I had enjoyed a multi-course, multi-hour dinner with a view of the Bali Sea, only to find myself back in the room immediately after, catching up on Slack as “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” played in the background. (The film was much worse than I had remembered.)

I was caught between worlds — between leisure and labor, remoteness and regular availability. I was neither here nor there.

This all came to a head during my crystal reiki session. At the end of the hour-long treatment, the practitioner shared some parting thoughts about how I appear to be constantly going, going, going. I am always looking forward; I don’t often take note of the present, and the past, even less. I do this out of necessity and a sort of self-preservation, yes, but also to my own detriment. I started crying even though I swore I wouldn’t.

I resisted the temptation to check my email immediately after leaving the spa. (Sorry to my boss, who will of course be reading this.) I hoped it could all just wait a couple hours, and indeed it could.

When PS first covered the quiet vacationing trend, the HR professionals we spoke to were unenthusiastic, but not for the reasons you might expect. “This trend is stemming from a cultural issue and toxic workplace environment more than anything else,” says HR consultant Lauren Winans. “It’s a continuation of the fear of not being connected, being away from the office and missing something, and the stigma that comes around taking an extended vacation.”

Each expert stressed the importance of an actual vacation. Shortly after getting back from Bali, I took a trip to New Orleans with my husband. I checked email here and there, deleting all the spam ones, but otherwise, I put my phone away and tried to stay present as much as possible.

My quiet vacation was incredible, and I won’t make it seem like it wasn’t just because I had to occasionally work at odd hours — especially considering the unique experience of traveling to Bali because of work in the first place. It was a privilege and a luxury. Will I be making a habit of it, however? My reiki practitioner would advise against it.

Kelsey Garcia (she/her) is the associate content director of PS Balance, where she oversees lifestyle coverage, from relationships to parenting to financial wellness. Kelsey is passionate about travel, dating trends, and changes in the workplace. Before joining the PS team as an editorial assistant in 2015, she interned at Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications.