- Bosses want workers in the office for productivity. So Gen Z workers are using the increased focus on presence to “task mask” and look busier than they are—but experts warn it could lead to further stress and burnout.
Ever since Amazon’s seismic return to office mandate late last year, more employers have been ending remote work and demanding that more staff show up in person.
Even in the face of desk shortages and counter petitions from employees, bosses across the board are maintaining that increase presence equates to increased productivity. They may find the opposite is true.
That’s because frustrated young workers can no longer afford to “loud quit” and risk losing their jobs in the tough hiring market—instead, they’re “task masking”.
Essentially, they’re going the extra mile to look like they’re working hard while actually hardly working. A quick scroll on TikTok will highlight a plethora of advice for how to look busy in the office; walking fast with a laptop stuffed under your armpit and typing audaciously loud are popular picks.
But beyond social media, managers tell Fortune that it’s a trend they’ve really witnessing trickle in their workforce. Here’s how task masking actually impacts performance—and what it means for Gen Z workers.
Micromanagement is to blame for task masking
The careers platform, career.io which coined the trend, says that task masking has increased in line with time spent in the office for one obvious reason: “Companies that demand their employees return to the office are sending a message that presence equals productivity,” Amanda Augustine, career.io resident career coach says.
“This (trend) reflects young professionals’ beliefs that time and ‘face time’ at work isn’t equal to their outcome and impact.”
Essentially, the aim of task masking is to prove that "looking busy" does not equal more productive.
Numerous managers echoed to Fortune they’ve witnessed first-hand a surge in employees scheduling unnecessary meetings and deliberately spreading simple tasks across the entire workday to appear consistently busy.
However, as Jenni Field, founder and CEO of Redefining Communications notes: This is nothing new.
“Disengagement and inefficiency can happen anywhere, whether in an office or working remotely,” the communications specialist says. “If people do not want to work, they won’t.”
Case in point: One HR director reported to Fortune a rise in downloads of mouse movement software—the virtual equivalent of faking looking busy—at her firm.
Field says unclear expectations, micromanagement, and a lack of communication is mostly to blame: “If someone is not delivering results, the issue is not where they are working but how they are being managed.”
“If people are required to be in the office, there should be a clear purpose beyond just being seen, especially if the work could be done from home,” she adds. “If that purpose is missing, employees and leaders need to work together to redefine what in-person work should look like and address the root causes of task masking.”
Victoria McLean, CEO and founder of the career consultancy City CV stresses that task masking should be a wake-up call for managers.
“If employees feel the need to task mask, the question isn’t ‘Why aren’t they working harder?’ It’s: ‘Why don’t they feel their real work is valued?’ When people are putting more effort into appearing productive than actually being productive, there’s likely a trust or engagement issue at play.”
Task masking may be the sign of something more sinister
In reality, task masking is probably not actually as big of a productivity killer as you might expect. Afterall, there’s only so much time you can waste rushing around and typing loudly
In fact, many workers have been doing this for the better half of 2024—long before the trend had a name to it. Managers: Did you even notice?
Thirty-six percent of workers admitted to faking productivity last summer, according to a Workhuman study. The main reason being the pursuit of a better work-life balance. What’s more, nearly 70% reported zero impact on their output, and nearly half said they are still above-average workers.
“This indicates that the key reasons for ‘task masking’ may not be due to a refusal to do work, but rather from feelings of burn-out from being in the office or not having enough work to fill their hours in the office,” Augustine adds.
Lee Broders, life coach, business growth mentor and serial entrepreneur stresses that whatever your reasons for task masking—be it burnout or feeling untrsuted by management—acting out performative tasks could backfire on the wellbeing on workers, actually leading to further stress and burnout.
“If you find that you are task masking, then stop and think, why is that? Are you bored, uninterested or upset with the current policies?,” he advises young workers.
Instead of channeling their energy into looking busy, Broders says workers would be better off talking to their manager about improving their workload or flexibility.
“Instead of focusing on the appearance of work, it is better to focus on setting goals and advocating for a better environment that would help with the actual work,” he adds.
McLean echoes that workers who task mask are simply “shortchanging” themselves.
“Your career isn’t built on desk hours; it’s built on results, relationships, and reputation. If you don’t see the value in being in the office, have an open conversation with your employer,” she adds. “If the culture still values performative work over real contribution, you might want to reconsider whether that’s the right environment for your growth.”
