New Gen Z travel trend bosses aren’t ready for

Remote work opens up a lot of flexible working opportunities, but are some taking it too far? Pic: Getty Images

Every week Gen Zers are sneaking off on ‘hush trips’ while they’re supposed to be working. Some say it’s a clever way to avoid burnout, while others reckon it should be a fire-able offence.

Words by James Booth for Escape

Since Gen Z have clomped into the workforce in their Crocs and Docs, we’ve seen a heap of changes, all focussed around finding a better work-life balance.

While Millennials and Gen X initially resisted (why should you have it easy when we suffered?) habits like acting your wage, bleisure-trips and actually staying home when sick are now quite common.

Now Gen Z are pushing their luck further. Enter: ‘hush trips’.

A ‘hush trip’ is a holiday you take on the sly, on a day your employer thinks you are working from home.

If you normally work remotely on a Friday, for instance, you might treat yourself to a long weekend by driving to your destination on a Thursday night, working from your holiday destination on the Friday, and seeing the sights on the weekend.

Hush trips aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Pic: as appeared in Escape.

People who work remotely 100 per cent of the time are getting away with even longer ‘hush trips’. There are stories of people going on week-long cruises, all while giving their bosses the impression they are working as normal.

Signs your co-workers might be ‘hush tripping’ include: increased happiness, unexplained joy and mid-winter sun tan.

Gen Z has always been a ‘work around the system’ kind of generation, Gen Z expert Corey Seemiller tells ESCAPE.

If your colleague comes back to work after a ‘work from home’ day looking particularly refreshed, they may have taken a ‘hush trip.’ Pic: as appeared in Escape.

Because of this, “If they don’t have a healthy work-life balance above board, it’s easy to see why some might find a way to work right around ‘the system’ in order to claim that balance.”

“While lying to a supervisor is not an acceptable solution, until workplaces embrace a culture of balance, trends like these may continue to happen.”

Another reason ‘hush trips’ are happening is because Gen Z are a globally-networked generation who have been shaped by technological ubiquity.

They have never been restricted by geographic proximity for networking, education or work, which means “they believe work and learning can happen anywhere, anytime” social researcher Dr Claire tells ESCAPE.

It’s also due to COVID, Gen Z author Mark Beal explains. According to Mr Beal, since the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 and “the transformation of the workplace from primarily in-office work to a mix of remote, hybrid and in-office work environments,” working from wherever (i.e. digital nomadism) has become trendy.

This article first appeared in escape.com.au as New Gen Z travel trend bosses aren’t ready for.

Travel & Tourism