WORKING HARD TO LOOK BUSY: WHY YOUNG WORKERS ARE ‘TASK MASKING’

You stride across the office, laptop in hand, heading to the first of many meetings you have lined up for the day. Back at your desk, piled with print outs, company pens and empty Huel bottles, you hunch over your screen, keyboard clattering. A scowl breaks into a loud sigh. 

Such behaviour may resemble that of a junior analyst hard pressed to meet a deadline. According to social media, however, these are also the hallmarks of Gen Z’s latest coping mechanism: task masking, or acting like they are working hard, while hardly working at all.

As employers from BlackRock to the Trump administration tighten demands on office working, influencers on TikTok and Instagram are showing followers how to trick their bosses into thinking they are busy. 

Advice ranges from classic tips such as always carrying something around — once a battered binder, now a battered laptop — to the modern technique of swiftly switching between Chrome tabs. Some recommend George Constanza of Seinfeld’s artful stratagem of looking permanently irritated, or the more obscure challenge of curving your back into a prawn-like C-shape, because nothing says intense concentration like bad posture.

The concept is not new. It is visiting the water cooler five times a day, rejigged for the digital age.

But the motivation has changed. Task masking is not indicative of Gen Z’s poor work ethic. On the contrary: it is a desperate attempt to retain employment, even if the facade workers are presenting is not necessarily conducive to increased output.

Rather than a novel way of slacking off, task masking is more a fear-based response to the pressures of the modern workplace, according to Amanda Edelman, chief operating officer of communications company Edelman’s Gen Z Lab, which advises business leaders trying to get to grips with those aged 13 to 28. “Gen Zers are talking among themselves about how to ensure they are a, being as productive as possible, and b, seeming as productive as possible, so that they’re not laid off or replaced by AI”.

Research from Edelman’s Gen Z Lab found 37 per cent of Gen Z workers fear losing their job, more than any other generation. Approximately 60 per cent are not confident they will find a good job this year.

“It would be trite to say that young people are lazy” says David Wreford, partner at Mercer consulting group. “We need to think about the extent to which there has been a breakdown in the contract between young people today and the promise of work.” 

This sentiment is echoed by 28-year-old Gabrielle Judge, whose “anti-work” social media content boasts more than 500,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok. “Baby Boomers gained the most out of corporate America. It was a meritocracy,” she says. “We weren’t raised with that same optimism . . . Our parents, Gen X, were just demolished by things. They had 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis . . . Gen Z folks are like, well, I know that this work stuff won’t take care of me.” 

So how can senior managers remedy the burgeoning disconnect with their youngest workers and prevent them from turning to task masking?

One way is to ensure that demands to be physically in the office are not considered futile. Task masking is in one way a retaliation against presenteeism, challenging the idea that presence equals productivity.

It is also useful for executives to consider the trend in the context of more traditional slacking — as an issue of employee engagement.

“Establishing working norms requires an ongoing conversation between management, leadership and employees,” says Caitlin Duffy of Gartner research group. That includes difficult discussions about performance. But it also means setting clear expectations and goals, and supporting colleagues to meet them and seek out new responsibilities. “One thing managers can do is recognise employees’ contributions and capabilities more intentionally . . . especially now with this push for productivity.” 

Perhaps the next time you notice your younger colleague swept up in a flurry of furious typing, ask them how they are managing the tasks they’ve been set — or just reassure them their contribution is valued.

2025-06-20T11:30:46Z