When it Looks Like Work, But It's Not: Surprising Survey Reveals

You might have heard the advice to "dance like nobody's watching," but in today's American workplaces, it seems more people are working as if they're always under a watchful eye. 

Worries about job security, more monitoring tools, and doubts about how remote work measures up have led to what's being called "productivity theater" – basically, putting on a show of being busy at work.

A company called Visier asked 1,000 full-time workers across the U.S. about this trend. They found that when employees feel pushed to deliver results, they often choose tasks that make them look busy over those that might be more meaningful but less visible. 

This creates a problem because it leads to what's known as "fauxductivity" – or fake productivity – where the focus is on appearing busy instead of actually being productive. As you might guess, this isn't great for actual work progress or for the companies' bottom lines.

Recent research by BambooHR confirmed that this issue isn't going away anytime soon. In their findings, a large majority of both office and remote workers said they felt they had to show they were working, even if it meant engaging in fake work activities. 

Interestingly, some company executives hope such pressures would encourage employees they think are less productive to leave.

Workhuman, another company, did a study that introduces us to "fauxductivity," showing how widespread fake work is and how it's more common among managers and top executives than regular employees. This is surprising because we often think of higher-ups as being more genuinely busy. Their research found that managers are more likely to admit to fauxductivity compared to entry-level workers.

The main reasons? Trying to balance work with personal life, dealing with workplace pressure, and simply feeling too burnt out. And for managers who fake being busy, a significant majority see it as an issue within their teams.

This fake busyness is causing what's known as "productivity anxiety" – a stressful feeling of needing to be always active and available, even when it means adjusting personal schedules to fit work demands.

Meisha-ann Martin from Workhuman mentions that this stress doesn't just affect individuals; it changes the whole workplace atmosphere and productivity levels. She stresses the importance of creating a work environment where people feel safe to talk about their struggles and not feel the need to pretend to be constantly working. 

Taking real breaks and being honest about downtime can actually lead to better work outcomes and personal well-being.

In conclusion, the push for constant visible productivity is creating harmful cycles of stress and fake work. 

The solution? Addressing these issues as part of wider workplace culture, encouraging transparency and real breaks, and centering well-being in managerial practices can help break the cycle of fauxductivity.

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