For years, workplace productivity has often been measured by how busy employees appear to be. But a new workplace survey suggests that many workers—and their managers—are increasingly playing the part rather than focusing on meaningful results.
The survey found that 66% of employees and 73% of managers admit to faking productivity at work. The findings point to a workplace culture where appearing busy can sometimes matter more than accomplishing meaningful goals, with burnout, micromanagement and an emphasis on visibility contributing to the problem.
Leadership expert Larry Coval believes the findings should prompt employers to look beyond the behavior itself and examine the environments they have created.
“The issue isn’t that employees are pretending to work. The issue is that leaders have created environments where looking productive matters more than actually being productive,” Coval said.
With nearly four decades of executive leadership experience, Coval argues that performative productivity is less a sign of employee laziness than a symptom of ineffective management.
When organizations reward employees for being constantly visible, responding immediately to messages or filling their calendars with meetings, workers can quickly learn that appearing active is the safest way to demonstrate their value. The result can be what Coval describes as productivity theater: employees concentrating on activities that look productive rather than work that produces measurable outcomes.
Micromanagement can make the problem worse. Excessive monitoring may give managers a sense of control, but it can also encourage employees to focus on demonstrating activity instead of exercising judgment and completing important work.
The survey’s finding that managers themselves are even more likely than employees to admit to faking productivity also challenges the idea that the problem belongs to younger workers or a particular generation.
For Coval, the solution begins with changing what organizations measure and reward. Instead of emphasizing constant activity, leaders can establish clear expectations, measurable outcomes and accountability while giving employees enough trust and autonomy to accomplish their responsibilities.
Coval has led organizations ranging from startups to billion-dollar operations during a career that includes leadership roles at AT&T, Global Crossing and Cox Business. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Misled: Why (Almost) Everything We Learned About Leadership Is Wrong and How to Fix It, scheduled for publication by Girl Friday Productions in September 2026.
The larger lesson for employers may be simple: If workers are spending too much time trying to look productive, the first question should not be why employees are pretending to work. It should be whether the workplace is rewarding the right things in the first place.