the.com/furlough
A vacation nobody requested, with a paycheck nobody guaranteed.
means A temporary, usually unpaid leave from work where your job technically waits for you to return.
from From the Dutch verlof, meaning permission or leave, borrowed by soldiers granted time away from duty.
Military rootsOriginally a soldier's official permission to leave post.
Job intactUnlike layoffs, employment status survives the pause.
Mass usageSpiked globally during 2020 pandemic shutdowns.