The Rise of False Productivity in the Workplace

Today’s workers are likely familiar with the trend of pretending to be productive. This phenomenon, known as “false conductivity” or “false productivity,” involves employees pretending to work or be busy when they’re not. Examples of this behavior include the “coffee badge” (going to the office for a few hours to have a coffee and briefly discuss work), “silent abandonment” (working as required but not being devoted to work), and “the mice are moving” (logging in to prove you’re always online, even if you’re not actually working).

These behaviors are becoming increasingly common among employees today. Experts define this type of work behavior as pretending to be at work or pretending to have done work efficiently.

Poor Performance: A Challenge for Organizations

The question of productivity has become a major issue in workplaces worldwide. Work behavior experts agree that this is a significant problem with consequences. The pandemic has increased isolation, and people are more accustomed to hybrid work.

A report by software company Atlassian found that CEOs of Fortune 500 companies consider “poor performance” the top organizational challenge this year. While most operational-level employees have openly expressed that they have work behaviors like coffee badges, silent abandonment, and mouse jiggling, it’s interesting to note that even supervisory and executive-level employees exhibit similar behaviors.

Supervisors and False Productivity

A recent survey by Workhuman, a cloud-based HR software company, found that 48% of managers or supervisors consider faking their effectiveness a problem for their teams. However, this type of work behavior is not limited to employees in general.

The survey revealed that 37% of supervisors admitted to pretending they were effective, compared to 32% of subordinates. Additionally, 38% of senior managers admitted to engaging in some form of false productivity. This phenomenon could be part of an “always on” work culture or the need to constantly work online.

Meisha-ann Martin, Senior Director of People Analytics and Research at Workhuman, emphasized the importance of supervisors fostering an effective organizational culture. “Supervisors should allow employees to work in a human way, taking breaks when needed, and encourage them to voice their opinions when they encounter problems. Good leaders need to be motivated to maintain their image and clearly communicate the distribution of breaks at work.”