The Case for “Soft Off” Days

Between layoffs, burnout, and rising performance expectations, working full-time is tougher than ever in 2026. Soft off days seem like a natural reaction to a workplace culture that expects productivity and high performance every day.

Burnout and job insecurity

According to recent research from Glassdoor, workers are more burned out than ever. Burnout mentions in Glassdoor reviews rose by 65% in the first quarter of 2026. The term appeared 2.5 times more frequently in reviews than in 2019.

Part of this is due to the ongoing layoffs in the US, with workers feeling they have far less job security than in the past. In a survey from ADP Research, only 28% of US workers “strongly agreed” that their jobs were safe from elimination.

Fears surrounding AI have fueled workers’ anxieties. Companies like Meta and Amazon have laid off thousands of employees this year while investing heavily in AI tools.

If workers face less job security than in the past, taking a soft off day may seem counterintuitive. But for a lot of them, giving 100% all the time out of fear causes untold stress and turmoil. People aren’t taking soft off days out of laziness. They’re doing it because they have little left to give.

A lack of PTO

Critics might tell employees to just take paid time off (PTO) if they’re feeling burned out. However, you’ll need enough vacation time to actually do so.

The US has one of the lowest required vacation days by country, with workers in the private sector receiving between 11 and 20 days on average, depending on how many years they’ve worked for their company. 1 There’s no statutory requirement for how much PTO employers are required to offer.

A late-2025 survey from FlexJobs also found that nearly a quarter of US workers (23%) didn’t take a single paid vacation day last year. 43% of the respondents said their workloads were too heavy to justify taking time off, while 34% said they didn’t have enough PTO.

For workers to successfully take a soft off day, they need to make sure they’re actually clocking in. One worker using the pseudonym Emma told Fast Company that she would sign in on Slack, then do laundry, go for runs, or squeeze in a quick workout.

She was even brazen enough to fly to Europe on a Wednesday night, claiming that since she still had Slack open, “no one knew” she was in a different time zone.

Other employees are less daring. In a post on the subreddit r/WFH, one user says that during “light” days, they “don’t schedule any meetings, focus on one or two easy tasks, and only answer PMs from colleagues who need quick answers.”

Some employees claim they’ll finish their tasks early and just periodically check their Slack or Microsoft Teams messages afterward.

Using AI tools to slack off

While AI tools may be creating more challenges for the workforce, they’ve also been facilitating employees’ soft off days.

A late-2025 survey from ResumeTemplates.com found that the majority of Gen Z workers use AI tools to slack off at their jobs. 77% of Gen Z respondents said they used ChatGPT or other chatbots for work-related reasons (which can be employer-endorsed, but often aren’t).

Notably, 42% also said they use it during work to “discuss non-work-related topics,” 38% use it for “entertainment or breaks,” and 15% use it to “look busy when they aren’t actually working.”

Outside of chatbots, remote workers are also using AI note-taking apps like Minutes and Granola. These apps record meetings and use AI to generate notes based on the conversations, and they’ve become very popular. According to Founded, Granola was valued at $1.5 billion in March this year, compared to $250 million in 2025.

A quick scroll on Instagram or TikTok will bring up hundreds of videos of influencers demonstrating how to use these AI note-taking apps. In one Instagram video, an influencer boasted that she can use the app Cluely to “check out” without missing a thing.

With the challenges workers face in 2026, it’s no surprise that soft off days have become popular.

Bosses often view employees who slack off as time-wasters and argue that they hinder collaboration between teams.If other employees are having to pick up the slack as a result of others’ soft off days, there’s no denying that’s a problem.

However, some employees take this into account. One anonymous worker told Fast Company that she plans her workload for the week around soft off days so she “doesn’t have to feel guilty,” claiming that “she won’t do it if it will put a strain on the rest of her team.” 2

Output matters more than hours worked

In Fast Company’s article, Emma claimed that, despite occasionally slacking off, she still gets all her work done. She added that she didn’t feel guilty, claiming that even her bosses “were just collecting a paycheck,” rather than feeling motivated to move up in the company.

Jessica Kriegel, author and Chief Strategy Officer at consulting firm Culture Partners, also said that “The ethical question of ‘soft off days’ has nothing to do with doing laundry at 2 p.m.”

“The real question is whether the employee delivered what they said they would. If they did, the laundry is irrelevant.”

While flying abroad on company time might be a step too far, occasionally working less intensively doesn’t mean employees can’t finish their tasks. In fact, research suggests that those who work fewer hours perform better.

A study from Slack found that workers who take breaks were 13% more productive than those who didn’t. 71% of desk workers also said they were less productive between 15:00 and 18:00.

If employees are able to complete their tasks within deadlines, the number of hours they spend working is less relevant. Rather than focusing on an arbitrary number of working hours, companies should prioritize employees’ output. If that means allowing workers to have less intensive days, then it’s worth it.

Recovering from burnout

Another argument in favor of soft off days is that they help workers recover from burnout. While managers may wince at the thought of employees slacking off, it could actually pay off in the long run.

Employees who are overworked or burned out tend to perform worse in their jobs, while engaged workers do much better. A study from Gallup found that organizations with engaged employees experience 18% higher productivity and are 23% more profitable.

Granted, engaged employees probably don’t feel as much of a need to take soft off days. But with Gallup’s survey finding that 1 in 4 workers experience burnout either “very often” or “always,” lighter work days could be the solution for driving up engagement.

A reaction to unnecessary meetings

If one thing encourages employees to take soft off days more than anything else, it’s unnecessary meetings. In Slack’s survey, more than 1 in 4 desk workers (27%) and over half of executives (55%) said they spend too much time in meetings. 3

Managers might argue that meetings are essential for problem-solving and setting goals, especially with employees who are working remotely. However, too many can actually drive down productivity, with Harvard Business Review reporting that 70% of meetings keep employees from completing their tasks.

Moreover, a joint study from software firm Otter.ai and Dr. Steven Rogelberg, a professor of organizational science at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, found that many meetings aren’t even necessary.

According to the study, the average employee attends about 17.17 meetings each week, working out to around 18 hours. Employees said that only 11.8 of meetings (11.9 hours) were “critical” to attend. They also said that 5.3 of those meetings (5.7 hours) could have been skipped, as long as they were kept in the loop. 4

As mentioned, many remote workers have been sneakily recording meetings and creating transcripts and summaries using AI note-taking apps. Bosses may feel that their employees aren’t participating, and it’s worth noting that many workers slack off instead of listening to meetings.

But if employers aren’t willing to cut back on unnecessary meetings, it makes sense that employees would turn to note-taking apps instead of attending.

Employee job security is at an all-time low, and layoffs are on everyone’s minds. If bosses get wise to workers’ soft off days, those who slack off could be more likely to face the chopping block.

Even though employees are worried about their jobs, they’re also contending with burnout more than previous generations. There’s only so much pressure workers can absorb before they start looking for ways to reclaim their time and energy.

Angela Williams, LCSW, a psychotherapist and executive coach, told Fast Company that the ethics of taking soft off days isn’t the issue.

“Our expectations of productivity haven’t caught up with how people are actually living and working,” she said. “Most people aren’t trying to get away with less work. They’re trying to stay functional without burning out.” 2