As employers crack down on hybrid work, insisting that the US corporate class head back to the office, gen Z reckons with a dilemma. How do you appear to look busy enough to appease an ever-present boss?
Thirty years ago, Seinfeld’s George Costanza had a theory: “Always look annoyed.” That way, “people think that you’re busy.” Today, performative productivity goes by a new name.
“Bosses beware, gen Z are ‘taskmasking’,” read a recent, rather narc-y Fortune story. “They’re going the extra mile to look like they’re working hard while actually hardly working.” One example of taskmasking: moving quickly though the office while carrying a laptop or clipboard – straight out of a West Wing walk-and-talk. Another example: typing loudly, like a DMV employee having a bad day, even if what you’re typing has no relevance to your job.
