Instead of perpetuating an illusion of busyness, perhaps it’s time for an honest conversation about redefining productivity and success within our workplaces.
Image: Mikhail Nilov/pexels
If you’ve ever stared at your inbox late at night, timing an email to “send later” just so it looks like you’re working around the clock, you’re not alone.
Welcome to the world of task masking, one of the latest workplace trends shaking up office culture. It’s the cousin of quiet quitting, the rebellion against hustle culture that went viral in 2022.
But while quiet quitting is about setting boundaries and doing just enough to meet your job description, task masking takes things in another direction: it’s about looking productive, even when you’re not.
And here’s the thing: it’s not just a Gen Z quirk or a TikTok fad. It’s a symptom of something deeper in our post-pandemic work culture, return-to-office mandates, and the pressure to always appear “on.”
In a "Psychology Today" article, career coach Madeline Mann explained: "Task masking is essentially looking like you're busy doing important work, when it's more to keep up appearances."
That could mean: Filling your calendar with back-to-back (and sometimes unnecessary) meetings. Walking around the office with your laptop as though you’re on a mission. Responding to emails at odd hours. Announcing how “overwhelmed” you are, even if your to-do list isn’t mission-critical.
According to a recent Workhuman poll, over one-third of U.K. workers admit to engaging in fake productivity. And if we’re honest, most of us have probably done it whether out of stress, fear, or survival.
Task masking isn’t always about laziness or trying to game the system. In fact, experts say it’s often driven by burnout, anxiety, and fear of failure.
Psychiatrist Dr Paul Ditzell, speaking to Investopedia, notes, “It’s often driven by fear of making mistakes, of being judged, or of feeling like a fraud. Low-stakes tasks feel safe, even if they don’t move your career forward.”
In other words, task masking can feel like a protective shield. It gives us a false sense of accomplishment when we’re too exhausted or anxious to tackle the big, high-impact work.
Gen Z gets a lot of attention here, and for good reason. They’re the first digitally native generation in the workplace, savvy, adaptable and quick to spot loopholes.
As Mann points out, “Gen Z is learning how the corporate game is played, while also watching the corporate game evolve with remote work, AI, and new technology.”
But soft skills still matter. A 2023 study in the journal "Heliyon" found that empathy, communication, and adaptability remain critical career success skills that can’t be faked by task masking.
Task masking isn't merely a sign of laziness; rather, experts suggest it stems from deeper psychological issues such as burnout and anxiety.
Image: Flo Dahm /pexels
Sure, task masking might help you look busy today. You might even get away with it long enough to earn a promotion. But experts warn it’s a dangerous long-term strategy.
Mann puts it bluntly: “Task masking can hurt younger employees because they won’t have measurable accomplishments to show for their work. And with AI and layoffs threatening jobs, clear results matter more than ever.”
Signs you might be caught in a task masking trap include: You’re always “busy” but can’t name recent wins. You dread check-ins with your manager. You plan your day around being seen instead of getting things done.* You’re constantly anxious and exhausted at work.
That treadmill feeling? Running hard, sweating buckets, but staying in the same place, that’s task masking in action.
So, how do you shift away from this trend without burning out? Experts suggest a few strategies:
Task masking, quiet quitting, coffee badging, it’s easy to dismiss these as quirky workplace buzzwords. But they reveal something bigger: our workplaces are evolving faster than we can keep up.
Whether you’re Gen Z trying to navigate corporate life, or a millennial sandwiched between RTO mandates and Zoom fatigue, these trends highlight a truth many of us feel but rarely say out loud: we’re tired of pretending.
And maybe that’s the lesson here. Instead of finding new ways to look busy, perhaps the real challenge for both companies and employees is to redefine what productivity and success actually mean.
Because here’s the thing: looking busy might keep you afloat for now. But in the long run, it’s the people who do meaningful, measurable work and protect their well-being while doing it who will thrive in the workplaces of tomorrow.