Task masking: why employees are pretending to be busy at work

A new buzzword has entered the workplace chat: task masking.

As companies haul their employees back to the office through return to office (RTO) mandates, some workers are adopting tactics to make them look busier than they actually are. These can include rushing around the office, typing loudly, always checking their email inbox, and scheduling non-existent virtual meetings.

While some suggest it’s most popular among Gen Z, senior workers are also faking productivity. Around a third of C-suite leaders and managers polled by Workhuman last year admitted to being guilty of ‘fauxductivity’.

Task masking isn’t necessarily a case of employees slacking on the job. Often, they could have completed their high-priority tasks, but rather than sitting at their desk twiddling their thumbs, they feel that they need to appear productive until the end of the working day.

It doesn’t help that more companies seem to be turning to productivity monitoring software to keep tabs on employees whom they feel may have become less productive in general after having spent so long working from home.

According to Owl Labs’ State of Hybrid Work 2024 report, 38% of 2,000 UK-based workers and 46% of 2,000 US-based workers surveyed revealed their employer had added such software to its tech stack within the past 12 months. Furthermore, 86% of the respondents in both countries believe employers should be legally required to disclose the use of monitoring tools.

"The rise of task masking is a consequence of rigid office rules that don't always align with productivity or preferred ways of working,” Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs, tells ITPro. “This trend signals a quiet but growing pushback against outdated workplace policies, particularly as organizations continue to impose strict attendance requirements and long working hours.”

Andy Wilson, senior director of new product solutions at Dropbox, stresses that task masking is “not laziness – it is a symptom of how work has been designed”.

The current work system in place rewards people for the number of hours they put in. If they’re task masking then it’s likely because they haven’t been given the right amount and right quality of work to keep them busy. “We shouldn’t be surprised if employees are signaling productivity, instead of creating impact,” Wilson adds.

Measure progress not motion

So, how should leaders go about remedying performative productivity?

First and foremost, companies shouldn’t be using employee monitoring software as it “measures motion not progress, and this can undermine trust,” says Wilson. Surveillance can have a negative psychological impact on employees and is likely to end up hurting the productivity the software is supposed to be boosting.

A better fix, he advises, would be to “prioritize outcomes so they can shift the focus from busyness to meaningful results”. When employees are set goals then they’ll have something to work towards. If employees then achieve their goals early, then they could always go home early.

To this end, employers should also not be getting hung up on the number of hours being worked. When they do, employees are more likely to feel like they’re constantly being surveilled, regardless of whether monitoring tools are being used or not.

Weishaupt agrees that it’s critical “to dismantle the hundred year-old working model centered around the traditional nine-to-five”. He adds that “it’s crucial to recognize that more hours don't always lead to greater productivity, nor does stipulating strict in-office attendance. It’s about how effectively those hours are used, not where they are spent.”

Owl Labs’ survey found that 35% of the UK-based workers and 28% of the US-based workers would look for flexible working hours as a key benefit from a prospective employer. A four-day working week would be preferred by 32% and 26% respectively.

More interestingly, perhaps, the majority of respondents indicated they’d be willing to take a pay cut to receive these benefits.

Build a culture of trust

The past few years have shown that different working models can be effective – but only as long as employees can trust their employers.

Leaders should build trust through establishing performance objectives that set out what’s expected of their workforce. They should check in regularly with employees and provide feedback on their performance or flag signs that their productivity levels might be dropping off. Employees can then take action to improve their performance before it turns into a potentially bigger problem.

Taking these actions can help to create a workplace environment where employees feel trusted and have more flexibility. They should be more engaged as a result and will feel free to do their best work, says Wilson.

Ultimately, if leaders don’t want a workforce of task maskers, then they need to let go of the traditional working day and accept that surveilling employees can be counterproductive.