What’s Trending: Hush Trips
December 3, 2024
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Have you ever thought about just taking your computer with you and taking it to an exotic locale? You could work from there. Hotels tend to have WiFi, and if there’s no need to go to the office, who would ever know? Well, this is the logic behind hush trips or hushcations, and it is catching on.
With the pandemic, the rise of remote workers has opened the possibilities for some to become digital nomads, but it isn’t as easy as some would think. Companies that don’t have policies or knowledge of this trend might be caught in a tight spot, so to know what to expect according to top publications’ experts read this short article.
So, people are taking hush trips, Caroline Bologna writes for the Huffington Post. If you’re wondering what exactly these trips are, you’re not the only one, as this is a new trend that has risen with remote work. Hush trips are when remote workers work somewhere that isn’t home, specifically at a holiday location.
Hush trips are easy for remote workers, as they don’t have to be in a specific location to do their job, as many found out during the pandemic. If they’ve turned their living room into an office, why would it stop them from turning a hotel room into another one? The idea behind it is that if you’re putting in the work during your hours, who cares where you actually are?
“The concept is somewhat similar to “bleisure travel,” which involves combining business and leisure travel. Bleisure travelers might go on a work-related trip, but tack on extra time on the front or backend for vacation. “
This allows workers to improve their quality of life and morale, which in turn is beneficial for the company. Having the opportunity to kick back after a day’s work and enjoy their time or their family’s can be extremely beneficial for their mental health and overall productivity. Not everything is pros when it comes to this type of working—challenges are pretty common in this sort of lifestyle, from simple connectivity issues to administrative ones.
Suzanne Lucas writes a piece for Inc. in which she argues that the administrative downsides of hushcations are such that employers should vehemently forbid them to the point of having policies against them.
Lucas points out that the different tax and legal worries are difficult enough if workers aren’t officially digital nomads. When a company starts working somewhere, it needs to register every worker in the state where they work. This is done for tax, legal, and even for medical purposes. For example, what happens if a worker hurts themselves while on a hush trip when they never told their employer?
“Every government loves to collect taxes. There are all sorts of rules around working in a variety of states and even more about working in different countries.”
Just think about the minimum wage or overtime pay in different states. It all becomes too muddy for companies to think about. That’s why this editorial argues that to comply with laws and protect the company and workers’ best interests, rules must be set. Now, Lucas ends it by saying that a full ban on travel isn’t necessary; everyone should agree to reasonable parameters and be aware of the consequences if they break trust.
Forbes’ Brittany Anas is a little bit more lenient regarding hush holidays. After all, they do help workers, but might put the company in a tight spot. The truth is that hush holidays are happening, whether you hear about them or not, as remote workers aren’t telling or asking for PTO.
According to Forbes statistics, 13% of the workforce is fully remote, and 28% is in a hybrid mode. ResumeBuilder reports that 44% of Gen Z workers admit to taking hush trips, and most of them haven’t gotten caught or reprimanded. This finding isn’t so shocking when people take the pandemic into account, such as how this generation got into the workforce and how being cooped up working remotely offered the freedom of working from home mixed with the inability to get out.
Not only that, considering how side hustles have risen in people’s lives, this might signal another worrying trend: overworking until burnout. If someone isn’t asking for their PTO, it might mean that the company isn’t particularly good about respecting time off or has a similar problem. The next relevant questions are: Can employees log out of work, and how is this affecting them? Do they have burnout?
“As humans we need to slow down in order to speed up, so I fully support more conversations around remote work that also supports rejuvenation.”
A company that doesn’t allow its workers to rest properly, or even one where employees feel like they can’t speak up to ask for PTO, is ripe for hushcations when the chance is given. This is definitely not ideal, as it questions transparency, trust, and even company culture.
Still, not every company looks at it in such a negative life, though these seem to be disruptive companies that go against the norm. Some businesses prefer that their employees thrive in all aspects of their life, and traveling is definitely part of it. Some companies, including gpac, encourage the #LaptopLifestyle. “It’s only when someone cannot deliver their work that things will get dicey,” says Josh Loewen, co-founder of The Status Bureau.
Hushcations are not just a new trend but may be a new way of life for certain remote workers. There are many things that they, along with their employer, must work on to ensure they are protected in every sense, but working vacations are nothing new, bleisure travel was a thing beforehand; this is just the evolution. Still, it’s not all roses, as true hush trips demand secrecy and a lack of trust in your own company, and there are clear legal disadvantages and grey areas that could come back to bite you or even lead to a firing.
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