Fauxductivity Crisis: Why Employees are Faking Work (and How to Fix It)

Let’s face it – most of us have, at some point, looked busy at work without actually getting much done. Maybe you’ve shuffled emails, sat through endless meetings, or kept your status “green” on Slack just to show you’re “on the job.”

This is fauxductivity: employees faking productivity while not delivering meaningful work. The problem is that it’s on the rise in today’s workplace culture, and it needs to be fixed.

Let’s explore how fauxductivity works, why it’s a growing trend, and ways to fix it.

The rise of fauxductivity: why now?

Fauxductivity isn’t just a buzzword, but a real phenomenon that’s gaining traction across industries. And everyone is doing it, not only employees, but leaders too! According to findings revealed by Workhuman, nearly 38% of C-suite executives and 37% of managers admit to faking productivity, compared to 32% of non-managers.

Shifting to hybrid and remote work in recent years has made it easier to “look busy” without being truly productive. Most digital tools lack clear metrics, which blur the lines between activity and tangible outcomes.

The root causes of fauxductivity

Fauxductivity is often a symptom of deeper workplace issues, a lack of psychological safety at work, and poorly made processes. So, in a way, employees feel that they need to overperform

• Employees feel an extreme pressure to perform: The “always-on” culture and high expectations push employees to show visible signs of work, even if it’s just for show.
• Surveillance tools: Increased monitoring in the company culture backfires. It encourages people to find countermeasures against being closely supervised. They also end up thinking that appearing busy and being seen is more valuable than being effective.
• Unclear goals: When managers don’t set clear expectations, feedback, or trust, employees often default to performative tasks to fill the gap, creating an overall toxic culture.
• Fear of job loss: In uncertain times, employees feel the need to prove their worth by any means necessary.
• Employee burnout and well-being: In a poor culture that praises being “always-on”, many employees fake productivity to cope with burnout or to carve out a better work-life balance for themselves.

✨ Did you know that… poor workplace culture and the high rates of employee burnout are the main causes of fauxductivity? MyPerfectResume’s survey revealed that out of 1,200 U.S.-based workers, 88% are experiencing burnout.

“With that response, it’s no surprise that employees are turning to fauxductivity as a coping mechanism,” says Jasmine Escalera, career expert for MyPerfectResume.

What are the signs and behaviors of fauxductivity?

Fauxductivity can be sneaky. Here are the signs of faking productivity:

• Too many meetings: Behaviors like attending or scheduling meetings that don’t move the needle are a red flag. Often, employees fill their calendars with back-to-back, pointless meetings that usually have no agenda or outcomes.
• Unnecessary emails: Sending or responding to emails just to seem like they’re doing work is another problem. This includes replying to every message, even when not required, or starting email threads that add no value. The goal is to create a visible trail of activity, to look like they’re always working.
• Mouse jigglers & status tricks: Using tools to keep their online status active, even when they’re not working, is a new trend in the remote and hybrid workplace. Employees use mouse jigglers, schedule messages to send after hours, or update their status on chats.
• Stretching simple tasks: Taking longer than necessary to do the bare minimum is a subtle but common form of fauxductivity, unless it’s burnout. People overcomplicate simple tasks, add extra steps, or claim to be perfecting details, all to fill time.
• Overuse of productivity tools: Constantly updating trackers or dashboards without progress is another red flag. Employees spend too much time logging activities, giving status updates, or tweaking project management tools. While these look productive on the surface, they’re often a distraction from actual work.

In summary, these behaviors can be found in both remote and in-office settings, but remote work has amplified the opportunities for what Visier calls “productivity theater”.

What are the effects of fauxductivity in organizations?

Fauxductivity might seem harmless, but it can have big consequences for companies and employees:

• Costs: Time and resources are wasted on non-outcome activities.
• Distorted metrics: When “busyness” is measured instead of results, organizations make decisions based on bad data.
• Low morale and engagement: Employees who feel forced to fake productivity experience stress, dissatisfaction, and burnout.
• Eroded trust: Increased scrutiny and micromanaging breed resentment and damage relationships.
• No innovation: When everyone is busy looking busy, there’s no room for creativity or real collaboration.

How to spot and fix fauxductivity?

To fix fauxductivity, you need to do structural changes, not just tweak policies.

You, as an employer, manager, or organization, need to change the entire optics of how you approach results. You need to start helping employees focus on real work, a genuine engagement, and environments that support productivity in the workplace.

1. Switch to outcome-based metrics

Stop measuring productivity by hours or visible activity. Instead, set clear outcome-based work goals so people know what matters. This will encourage meaningful work, and teams will prioritise results over appearances.

Still interested in measuring time spent on tasks? That’s a great option that’s informing your decision, but it needs to be done strategically, ethically, and with the right time-trackers:

A. Train your workers on improving their time management skills, and teach them time management.

B. Introduce them to an automatic time-tracking app that helps them understand their time wasters and time spending habits to auto-correct their behaviors.

✨ Pro tip: Not sure what metrics to measure your team? This article on useful metrics for evaluating employee performance reveals the 10 most relevant metrics for you.

2. Build a trust-based workplace culture

Build trust by empowering teams and recognizing their real contributions, not just visible busyness. Open communication and regular feedback will foster genuine engagement and motivate people to deliver real results.

This, for sure, is a long-term shift that needs to happen within your company culture, but trust-based cultures create environments where productivity can happen naturally.

3. Support employee wellbeing

Promote work-life balance and provide resources for mental health to reduce burnout. When people feel supported, they’ll be more likely to fully engage in productive work and sustain productivity over time. You need to always be one step ahead, and check if your team stays long hours at work, and help them reduce overtime and correct their poor time management habits.

Also, redesign jobs and workflows if needed. Simplify processes so people can focus on what matters, and reconfigure their work schedules to work in their favor, not against them. By simplifying workflows and giving more autonomy, you’ll create environments that minimise distractions and boost productivity.

✨ Did you know that… a flexible work schedule generally leads to higher productivity, lower absenteeism, and greater job satisfaction? Research done by Stanford proved it.

4. Train managers to lead by example

Managers are the first example that employees model in businesses. And many times, the common issue is that managers have toxic productivity behaviors.

Equip managers to set clear goals and recognise real achievements. Equip them to be the ones who set the tone on leaving the office or closing the computer at 5 PM, and live their lives. These are also structural elements of your culture, and require time, but are so necessary.

Ready to create a healthy work culture?

If you’re seeing warning signs of fauxductivity in your company, then you’ve received a signal that something isn’t working in the way you define, measure, and reward work. By shifting your focus from appearing busy to outcomes, fostering trust, and supporting employee well-being, you can break the cycle of performative busyness.

It’s long-term work, but let’s move beyond fauxductivity and build workplaces where everyone can do their best, most meaningful work!