"The Way of Pretending to Be Busy" Investigation
By Journalist Xiaoshunan
Setting multiple alarms to wake up, struggling to catch the first bus, rushing past the boss and the time clock, then furrowing your brow and diving into work - in today's increasingly competitive environment, it seems that office workers can't afford to slack off for even a minute. Even during idle moments at work, they don't dare to relax too much, as their boss might be watching from behind. Recently, a new group of people known as "pretend-to-be-busy tribe" has broken this awkwardness and gained the admiration of many young urbanites.
When it comes to the "pretend-to-be-busy tribe", we have to start with the popular thread on various forums not long ago titled "Exposure of Lazy Tricks by the 'Pretend-to-be-Busy Tribe'". The post detailed the most commonly used workplace "lazy tricks" of today: having QQ and Notepad open simultaneously to pretend to be writing copy while actually chatting; maintaining a serious expression while reading funny web pages; playing Flash games with an Excel window open; answering a friend's call by saying "Hello, yes, please go ahead"... These people who appear busy but are actually very adept at secretly slacking off are the "pretend-to-be-busy tribe". Currently, netizens are continuously enriching the "tricks for being lazy".
Last week, a survey conducted by the Social Investigation Center of China Youth Daily through Tik Survey Network and Public Opinion China Network (with 12,348 participants) found that 90.1% of the public discovered the existence of the "pretend-to-be-busy tribe". 86.1% admitted to "pretending to be busy" at work, among which 15.9% "often pretend to be busy".
What are the tricks for "pretending to be busy"?
During work hours, what methods do you use to steal some leisure time? In the survey, 57.3% of people said they browse content unrelated to work online during work hours; 34.3% frequently leave the office area under the pretext of going to the restroom or getting water to steal some leisure time; 32.8% chat or play games online during breaks; and 15.4% secretly trade stocks online during work hours.
To "pretend to be busy", Ms. Hao, an employee at a foreign company in Changsha, has reached an understanding with her colleagues: "If a colleague goes to answer a personal call, just say they went to the restroom; if they're late, just say they worked overtime or got stuck in traffic; if they don't show up one day, then of course they're meeting clients."
Ms. Hao said that now, when people encounter excuses that are "a bit hard to pass", such as moving, a classmate's wedding, needing to repair appliances, or feeling unwell with a mild cold, they are reluctant to ask for personal or sick leave from their superiors because they fear leaving a bad impression of being "too troublesome". Thus, whenever someone has an issue, everyone automatically "unifies their story".
In late April, Mr. Huang, a salesperson at a private company in Beijing, played some games after completing his monthly sales target and was criticized by his superior for being "content with the status quo and lacking ambition". He felt wronged: "I was anxious and sleepless for several days trying to meet my target. Now that the task is done, with two more days before the deadline, why shouldn't I rest?"
Complaints aside, by the end of May, Mr. Huang had completed his tasks ahead of schedule. This time he learned his lesson and didn't even go to the office, borrowing business cards from friends claiming responsibility for multiple corporate market departments. As soon as he started work, he showed the cards to his boss, saying "I've been busy scheduling meetings with these clients recently." In the end, due to exceeding his targets and showing "continuous progress," Mr. Huang was named the "Employee of the Month" by the company – Mr. Huang told the reporter with a sigh: "I joined the 'pretend-to-be-busy tribe' out of necessity!"
Where are there the most "pretend-to-be-busy" people?
Why do people "pretend to be busy"? In the survey, 39.7% said "pretending to be busy" gives a good impression; 37.5% believed "pretending to be busy" increases the chances of promotion; 33.2% thought "pretending to be busy" reduces work pressure.
During interviews, responsible persons from multiple enterprise departments all acknowledged the existence of "pretend-to-be-busy" phenomena among employees, but they "place more emphasis on results", believing that employees' relaxation during idle times is "understandable and unnecessary to pretend".
"You think we want to 'pretend', right? Many leaders say occasional entertainment is fine on the surface, but once you make a mistake, they'll bring this up," said Ms. Yu, a customer manager at a private company in Wuhan. She used to take novels downloaded at home to the office and secretly read them during idle moments. She said her main job was project management, and when there were projects, she was extremely busy, but once the project was over, there was nothing to do. "But we still have to punch the time clock, arriving earlier than our bosses and leaving later. When the boss is around, even if the work is done, we all pretend to type on keyboards, 'pretending' to be working hard."
Ms. Yu agreed that "pretending to be busy" is a survival philosophy in the workplace. She said, "Pretending to be busy is also a way of dealing with people. Everyone is pretending to be busy, and if you don't, the leader will think you don't care about him."
In the survey, 62.5% of people believed that "pretending to be busy" is to give a good impression to the boss, making "pretending to be busy" a survival philosophy in the workplace; 37.7% indicated that since everyone else is busy, it's inappropriate for oneself not to be, thus leading to "pretending to be busy."
Professor Lin Xinqi from the Department of Human Resource Management at Renmin University of China's School of Labor and Human Resources, in an interview with China Youth Daily, said that although the phenomenon of deliberately slacking off and "pretending to be busy" exists, it is only in rare cases. "The main reason employees 'pretend to be busy' is still due to the lack of sound enterprise management systems. This makes many employees unable to fully utilize their abilities, forcing them to 'pretend to be busy.'"
Lin Xinqi said that currently, many enterprises have flaws in their position settings. The boundaries and responsibilities of job positions are unclear, and tasks overlap. "Many companies hire the number of people they roughly need without knowing exactly what they will do after hiring them, resulting in frequent occurrences of 'overstepping' and 'not reaching.' How can efficiency improve?"
"There are also issues like rigid reporting relationships and unclear work strategies. Many companies are still in the 'rule-by-man' stage of emotional management, so employees have to find something to do even if there's nothing, just to appear busy in front of their leaders."
In the survey, 45.9% of people also believed that people "pretend to be busy" because of "unreasonable enterprise and unit systems."
Global Career Planner Certification Chief Trainer Zhong Gulan suggested that for some flexible, creative positions, companies should eliminate self-deceptive management regulations, such as mandatory attendance checks and fixed working hours like 9-to-5. "Google's humanized management system is worth learning from by many companies. Their working environment is very comfortable, offering not only food and drinks but also various recreational and leisure facilities. Employees feel very free and full of vitality while working." Zhong Gulan believed that some companies could completely let employees freely choose their working hours.
Lin Xinqi also believed that some companies should be performance-oriented and implement "flexible management" for employees. "Employees zoning out, chatting, or playing games during work hours should be considered part of the job rather than laziness. Because during short periods of relaxation, some employees gain inspiration and creativity for their work."
Experts Suggest "Pretend-to-be-Busy Tribe" Shouldn't Treat Leaders Like Parents
In early 2006, Global Career Planner Certification Chief Trainer Zhong Gulian resigned from her position as a psychological counselor at Beijing Normal University's Psychological Counseling and Research Center and began her free career. "Because every weekend was occupied by important work in my eyes, losing the life I should have."
However, after a year of "freedom," Zhong Gulian found that although there was no external constraint, the pace of life did not slow down, and it became even busier. "Many people attribute busyness and unhappiness in life to external factors, saying it's 'for the boss to see.' In fact, we ourselves are the worst 'bosses.'"
Recently, a wave of people calling themselves the "pretend-to-be-busy tribe" has emerged. They look busy but are actually "slacking off." Last week, a survey conducted by the Social Investigation Center of China Youth Daily through Tik Survey Network and Public Opinion China Network (with 12,348 participants) found that 86.1% admitted to "pretending to be busy" at work; 62.5% said they "pretended to be busy" to "leave a good impression on the boss."
Department heads of multiple companies interviewed said they were very "accommodating" towards employees. After Liu Yi jumped ship to Dentsu Advertising Company this year, she found that employees were very proactive at work, but as soon as they had downtime, the office would explode with noise. Some gathered in circles to gossip, others shamelessly played games, completely ignoring the passing supervisors. Liu Yi laughed and said: "Actually, such a corporate culture is normal, work hard and play hard."
Zhong Gulian once met a department manager at Procter & Gamble. This manager always left work promptly at 5 p.m., which was rare at P&G. When Zhong asked how he managed it, the manager replied: "I've already finished what I needed to do, and I often travel, so I need to leave time for my family and children, which is very important to me."
"In many cases, both leaders and employees accommodate each other. However, if employees have opinions about something but don't dare to speak up, leaders won't know, and conflicts will accumulate deeper and deeper." Zhong Gulian believes that employees should bravely stand up and voice their opinions instead of treating themselves like children and treating the company and leadership like parents. "Many employees are trapped by their inner 'boss,' feeling powerless, yet they don't realize they are also part of the company and can actively change the environment."
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