‘Soft off days’ are gaining popularity but come with hidden risks

Praised by many as a 'corporate hack'

But after you have booked time off for family visits, a girls’ trip, or a romantic getaway, there often seems to be barely any leave left just for yourself to rest, recharge, or simply do nothing.

Enter the soft-off day.

Praised by some as a clever “corporate hack,” a soft-off day is when employees technically work from home but do not actually engage in any work tasks.

The idea is simple. You get a day to yourself without dipping into your official annual leave.

While many corporate TikTokers encourage their followers to schedule soft-off days, career coach Hannah Salton warns that it can be a slippery slope and might even put your job at risk.

What is a 'soft off day'?

Everyone has their own ways of making a 'work from home' day more bearable, whether it’s sleeping in for an extra 15 minutes, extending lunch by 20 minutes, or tweaking Slack to appear active even when you’re not.

One employee told Metro that she used to switch the settings on her laptop in her favour: "I adjusted it so that it doesn’t go into ‘sleep’ mode unless I close the lid.

"It means whenever I shower or go out, I look like I’m still online.

"Sometimes I’ll even set up my laptop, and ask my mum to move the mouse around every now and again."

Some of the bolder employees admit to “key jamming,” where they place an object on their keyboard heavy enough to press the spacebar, making it look like they are hard at work behind their laptops.

According to social media users, taking a 'soft-off day' is all about strategy. You can’t schedule a long hair appointment in the middle of the day or disappear for hours at the pub.

The key is to rest while doing just the bare minimum.

Social media content creator Jaqueline Nicole even shared her ideal 'work-from-home soft-off day' routine.

Starting with a lie-in, the day usually involves wandering around the house, taking a longer-than-usual shower, and checking emails every few hours, before logging off at least an hour early to enjoy the rest of the evening.

What's driving the ‘soft off days’?

While career coach Hannah Salton understands why this trend has become increasingly popular, she warns it should not become a regular habit, per Metro.

"We’re tired," she says. "We’re working hard, juggling a lot, and no one is firing on all cylinders every day.

"Energy levels fluctuate, life gets in the way, and sometimes you genuinely need to leave early or have a quieter afternoon."

However, Salton warns that taking too many 'soft-off days' can quickly become a slippery slope.

"You do it once, get away with it, and gradually start pushing the boundaries further," she explained.

"Turning down tasks without explanation, scheduling fake meetings – it stops being self-care and starts becoming a risk to your professional reputation."

Hannah continues: "Saying no to projects without any context can easily result in getting on the wrong side of your manager. This can breed a lack of trust, and ultimately lead to more micromanagement – probably what you were trying to avoid in the first place!"

Taking time for yourself is important, however, taking 'soft off days' every week might not be the best idea for your professional reputation.

Hannah points out that if managers notice employees frequently taking these 'soft off days,' they should examine the overall working environment.

"Ultimately, open and honest conversation between managers and their reports is the way forward. Not an accusation, but a check-in. How are you finding everything? How’s your workload? Try to have an honest conversation to make things work for both of you.

"Remember that you have annual leave days for if you need some time out, and sick days for when it’s more than that."