Anyone remember the mid-lockdown TikTok fad for “nature’s cereal” – a beautiful selection of fresh produce that, while visually delightful, was basically just a repackaged fruit salad?

That’s what first came to mind when I read about “taskmasking” – a Gen Z work trend that I initially felt was old-fashioned dossing off with extra steps.

Recruitment expert Auria Heanley from Oriel Partners, a London-based recruitment agency, shared that the trend is “essentially performative productivity, where employees give off the impression of working without actually engaging in meaningful tasks.”

But what’s specific (if anything) to how the generation subtly skives off – and is it any different to the sneaky office workarounds employees have used for years?

Heanley agreed that “Taskmasking isn’t just a Gen Z phenomenon – “employees of all generations have been finding ways to ‘look busy’ at work for decades.”

But the expert explained: “The difference is that Gen Z is more open about it, leveraging technology and modern work habits to make it more efficient.”

For instance, she said, some may use a ”‘Boss key’ move where they quickly switch windows when a manager walks by.”

Others pack their calendars with “dummy meetings,” overloading their schedule with non-existent events and “joining virtual meetings but staying muted with the camera off while multitasking.”

This is part of the pandemic generation’s adjustment to increasing calls to return to the office, the career expert suggests.

Even those who work from home, however, may be aware that “with tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and time-tracking software, employees know they’re being monitored, which only reinforces the always-on culture”.

Gen Z may be sneakily skipping work in a new way to their parents or grandparents, but office “busy work” has always been rife (a 2013 study found that knowledge workers spend about 41% of their time on “discretionary activities that offer little personal satisfaction and could be handled competently by others”).

But corporations which “often value ‘looking busy’ as much as actual results” are outdated, Heanley suggested.

“Ultimately, taskmasking reveals how modern employees are struggling with outdated work expectations,” the expert said.

“Instead of blaming employees for adapting, maybe workplaces should rethink how they define productivity.”