Task Masking: Use These 4 Tips to Prevent It

It’s a worrying state of affairs for businesses. Most employees aren't engaged in their jobs—only 21% worldwide and 30% in India are involved in 2025, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2025 report. Many remaining (disengaged) employees engage in what HR leaders call “task ”masking”—appearing to be busy or working hard while barely producing any output.

Like most recent workplace trends—“conscious unbossing”, “microretirement,” and “career catfishing”—“task masking” is accredited to the newest cohorts in the workplace. Most Gen Zers began their careers during the pandemic. They have likely never experienced a traditional five-day office routine and are apparently willing to go to extreme lengths to avoid it.

However, other generations engage in performance productivity too, albeit for different reasons (avoiding scrutiny, prioritizing well-being, etc.). This article looks deeper at the various motivations behind “task masking”, what it means for employers, and how they might curb such behaviors.

How Do Employees “Task Mask” in the Workplace?

“Task masking” hides how little one is accomplishing at work. This is hardly a new phenomenon; HR leaders admitted to rampant “fauxductivity” (faking productivity) and "mouse shuffling" in the workplace not too long ago. But this inventive behavior is on the rise again, most plausibly due to the recent return-to-office mandates.

A quick search on TikTok brings up a plethora of creative ways to appear busy at work: a deliberately focused expression, attending unnecessary phone calls, scheduling (fake) meetings, typing away loudly, lugging your laptop around, walking hurriedly across the office, having multiple tabs open, providing status updates, and so on.

What Drives “Task Masking”?

A few potential drivers of “task masking” in 2025 are discussed below:

• Return-to-office mandates: The primary reason for the rise in productivity in 2025 is the recent RTO mandates. Starting last year, several corporate giants mandated employees to return to offices. As things stand now, most companies anticipate a complete shift back to office-based work within three years. It’s not hard to imagine why this push for office presence isn't being received well by Gen Zers or millennials who prefer and prioritize remote work, well-being, and work-life balance above all else. 

• Micromanagement: In many ways, task masking concerns management's persistent need for in-person oversight. Managers (particularly those with micromamaging tendencies), whether knowingly or unknowingly, conflate visibility with a job well done. In response, employees appear to be busy at work to escape the watchful eye of management. Essentially, “task masking” is a passive-aggressive attempt to prove that office presence does not necessarily translate to more impactful or productive work.

• Disengagement and well-being issues at work: There are a few reasons for workplace unhappiness and disengagement in the current times: 

  • Employees disengage when their needs are not being met. They may feel disconnected from work, team members, and the company’s purpose, consequently limiting their contributions. Disengaged employees “task mask” to avoid taking on additional work tasks, especially those requiring them to go above and beyond.

  • The back-to-back transformations over the past few years have left many employees underskilled in the age of AI. Fearing job security, this cohort of workers may use “task masking” to hide their inefficiencies and keep organizations from identifying gaps in their expertise or skills.

  • Employees may be facing anxiety or mental health issues due to the organizational emphasis on visibility. In such cases, “task masking” may be a ‘survival mechanism.’ 

Why Should Businesses Be Concerned?

Currently, a tight hiring market and fewer opportunities to pursue make it so unhappy employees don't have the option to leave or vent their frustrations by “revenge quitting” or “loud quitting.” Therefore, they’re “task masking.” 

However, economists forecast a more favorable job market in the upcoming months. These predictions aren't new, but business confidence is picking up. Many large companies have upped their hiring efforts recently. If that's the case, companies with rigid and misaligned policies may be looking at widespread turnover.

Further, if employees dedicate their time to appearing busy rather than doing meaningful work, it may not only hurt their career progression but also affect business output.

How Can Companies Address “Task Masking?”

It's the responsibility of company leaders to identify and address the root causes of “task masking” to ensure their talented and ambitious employees’ continued retention. The following actions are imperative to do so:

1. Provide a clear purpose: If companies require office presence, they need to show a clear purpose that goes beyond the assumption that teams perform better under direct, in-person oversight. Companies can expect deceptive behaviors like “task masking” to inevitably crop up without clearly communicating the reasons for mandating people back to the office. Company leaders need first to redefine what in-office work entails. Then, they must ensure employees know what's expected of them so they see value in working from the office. 

2. Provide the right conditions to inspire quality work :If employees have clear pathways to progress, flexibility to work remotely, and the right environment to flourish, they're unlikely to disengage and feel the need to “task mask.” 

3. Schedule check-ins: Managers who are aware of “task masking” in the workplace need to have regular two-way conversations with employees to uncover the specific challenges they're facing, such as social anxiety, micromanagement issues, and a lack of meaningful work.

4. Proactive involvement in development: Employees also need to take an active role in addressing roadblocks that affect their productivity and advancement. For instance,

• If working in the office causes employees to burn out or affects their work-life balance, they can work with their managers to create a hybrid schedule that suits them.

• If they don't have enough work to fill their workdays, they can ask managers to assign them more high-value tasks that could lead to growth. 

• If employees notice knowledge or skill gaps that keep them from doing their best work, they can proactively request access to development courses, mentoring or training opportunities, and workshops.

Conclusion 

HR leaders and managers are all too familiar with performative productivity and what it looks like. Instead of tackling the “task masking” trend, organizations must seek to address the root causes that lead to such deceptive behaviors in the workplace.

If companies provide the right culture, better training, mentoring, and more psychological support for employees to thrive, they will likely see “task masking” automatically reduced.