Are a majority of workers just pretending to be busy?

Published 4 Min Read

A woman at her desk, faced away from her laptop while looking at her phone.
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Many managers have suspected that their employees are putting in less work than they claim to. Employee recognition software company Workhuman set out to find whether that assumption is fact or fiction.

Workhuman surveyed 3,000 full-time employees in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland about work habits and performance: 67% of respondents deny that they pretend to be busy or “fake activity” during work hours. And yet, nearly 50% of managers believe faking activity is a common issue on their team. So, where does the disconnect come from? Lynette Silva Heelan, consulting practice lead at Workhuman, believes it comes down to leaders confusing being busy with being productive

Deanna Cuadra
Senior Reporter

Deanna Cuadra is a senior reporter at Employee Benefit News. Her work covers healthcare, U.S. policy and reform, challenges faced by women and parents in the workplace and innovation in work culture … Read full bio


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