 |
|
|
|||||
TikTok has been abuzz with the workplace trend task-maskingthat is, making yourself look busy so that your boss thinks youre hard at work. Cue behaviors like pounding hard on the keyboard, always keeping your status to active, or walking around the office with your laptop and looking like you have somewhere to be when you dont. Its all show. Its all performance, one TikTok user posted. They could be typing a thousand words a minute, but really be typing nothing, posted another. Some argue that its backlash against return-to-office policies: Many of these employees, especially Gen Z, feel like their presence doesnt equal productivity, a TikTok user said. And crucially, its not just about laziness, wrote another, arguing the pressure to look busy could actually be a sign of overwhelm. The term has come to be associated with Gen Z on social media, but in reality, the act (and art) of looking busy has been around for decades. Task-masking is the digital equivalent of shuffling papers, says employee coach and attorney Theresa DAndrea, known as That Work Girl, whos also discussed the trend on TikTok. Its an employer’s market right now to get a job, so people feel like they have to be busier than usual in order to keep their jobs. Nearly half (48%) of managers are concerned about employees who fake their productivity on the joband not without reason. That’s because 37% of managers and 32% of non-managers themselves admit to such fauxductivity, or trying to appear busy even when theyre not, according to a 2024 survey of 3,000 full-time employees in the U.S., U.K., and Ireland by Workhuman, an HR software company. Thats not good for employeesor companies. Such pressure to look busy can lead to burnout and inefficiencies, DAndrea says. Rampant task-masking may be a sign of workflow or cultural issues that management needs to address. And it may be an act of defiance for some, but a scrambling to prove worth for others. If youre feeling the pressure to look busy to show your boss how important you are, try these tactics instead of pretending to answer emails during the next all-hands meeting. Get clear about whats important, and prioritize ZipRecruiter career expert Sam DeMase says that in order for employees to truly add value, they need to understand the metrics used for success by both their supervisors and the company. You just need to focus on doing work that actually moves the needle, she says. DeMase suggests asking your boss questions to get clarity: How is success defined for this project? How does this project serve the companys goals for 2025? Know your core strengths and communicate those. DAndrea agrees. Instead of responding to every text, email, and communication platform notification immediately in an attempt to look busy, focus on what matters. Thats especially true after youve gotten a sense of what your boss and the organization value. Maybe even help your boss put together a KPI [key performance indicators] dashboard to track the performance of the team if your boss doesn’t already have something like that, says Korn Ferry senior client partner Maria Amato. I would be delighted if someone on my team did that. Keep learning Instead of tackling a task just for the sake of crossing it off the to-do list, keep learning where you can, says workplace culture expert Marissa Andrada. Work on understanding more about the company and its culture and values. If you get the context of how the work that you’re doing fits in [to the team and values]why it’s importantthen you can show, Here’s what I think about it, she says. Not only does this give you a better perspective on the work youre doing, but it can also help frame your work as more essential to your team (and boss). Its making your manager be successful by delivering on time and on point, she adds. It replaces the performative busywork of task-masking with strategic thinking that demonstrates real value. Taking on stretch roles or additional projects can help you keep learning, too. However, Amato cautions that its important to understand the culture of your company and the nature of your supervisor: Dont make it seem like you are trying to get away or are not interested in what you’re currently doingnot wanting to pay your dues, for example, in your current role. Document your wins DeMase suggests keeping a weekly log of your progress and wins, such as meaningful contributions to meetings, goal completion, positive feedback, project milestones, and processes you improve along the way. She adds that documenting your successes can also keep you motivated in your job. Amato says what you do with that information depends, again, on the culture of your organization and team. You might tell your supervisor that youve collected some data on your performance, and ask whether they would like you to share the information with them. Your boss may say, Oh, I would love to see that as it comes in. Just send it to me each and every time. But if they haven’t actually asked for [the info], it could be sort of like spamming your boss, she adds. We need to move away from busyness bringing value, DAndrea says. By getting more clarity about your role, reconnecting with your works meaning, and documenting your wins, you can add value and get more satisfaction. Those are payoffs that marching around the office with an open laptop simply cant deliver.
Category:
E-Commerce
Thinking forward is an automatic process. Cause, then effect. Input, then output. A to B. It feels logicaland normal to start with a conclusion, then find justification around it.But we can always take our thinking a step further. Sometimes, the best way to get the answers you want is to think backwards. Its called mental inversion. Turn the whole thinking process upside down. As the great algebraist Carl Jacobi said, Invert, always invert. Put another way, What would guarantee I fail at X?” is a better question than How do I achieve X? Most people focus on the obvious process because the brain doesnt like to think through ugly pitfalls. Starting from B to A helps you avoid the results you dont want. Its one of the most powerful tools I use to think clearly. To turn your decision-making process upside down, start from the back. Thinking backwards works because it forces you to reflect on what may be missing. The human brain is wired to save energy. It wants quick answers. Slowing down to see the full picture helps you cover all the basics of your decision-making process. Inversion helps you ask better questions. It can improve your clarity. Psychology research backs this up. A study in Cognitive Science showed that framing problems in reverse helps people make fewer errors in judgment. It works because it breaks default thinking patterns. It slows you down just enough to think more deliberately. The antidote to mental fog Clarity disappears in abstraction. If I try to think through every possible positive outcome, I get overwhelmed. But if I ask, Whats the dumbest mistake I could make here? I suddenly see the risk clearly. When I want to be productive, I dont just make a to-do list. I make a not-to-do list. Thats mental inversion. It opens up a whole perspective Im missing. Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu has said, To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day. When I write, I dont just think about everything I should include. I also look for what to cut. What confuses the reader? What slows them down? I try to remove what makes the post unreadable. And try to get rid of that. Inversion works because subtraction is often more effective than addition. It applies to almost every area of life.In his book, The Bed of Procrustes, author Nassim Taleb writes, Knowledge is subtractive, not additivewhat we subtract (reduction by what does not work, what not to do), not what we add (what to do). Think like a contrarian Reversing your thinking also trains you to be mentally independent, assuming the opposite of what you believe and testing it. It reveals hidden assumptions. Dont just look for whats true. Look for what could be false. You dont always need a new good idea. Sometimes you just need to clear out the bad ones. Look at opposites. Always invert. Indeed, many problems can’t be solved forward, says philanthropist and investor Charlie Munger. By exploring the worst, you can unlock the best. When in doubt, reverse. Dont just pursue outcomes. Find the blind spots people normally ignore. Sometimes the fastest way forward is to look backward first. How to apply inversion in life If you are stuck on big, knotty questions, invert. How do I find happiness? is vague. Instead, ask, What are the specific, proven actions that make me miserable every single time? For me, its skipping quality sleep, isolating myself, and overthinking. If life satisfaction is what you want, dont just ask, How do I live a happy life?” The more helpful question is, What makes my life miserable? List those things, and get rid of them first. Is it a specific experience in your relationship? Poor health or lack of purpose? Be specific. Detail the things that make you unhappy. Now try avoiding them. Its a precise way to eliminate everything draining your soul. For good health, avoid everything that makes your body worse off over the long term. Bad sleep, ultra-processed food, no exercise, sedentary lifestyle. Think through how people ruin their health. Dont start with what should I do? Start with what habits destroy health? Get rid of those first. Subtraction before addition. To improve your social relationships, spend less time with your connections who drain you. Career benefits If you want to apply inversion to your career, think about what people do that hinders their careers. Complacency. Refusal to adapt or learn new skills. Over-promising and under-delivering. Avoid those traps. You dont need complex systems. You need fewer blind spots. Inversion applies everywhere. In business, you can focus on what would make your new project an absolute failure in record time. The answers will be clear. Ignore your customers. Spend money you dont have on things you need. Assume youre the smartest person in the room. Dont validate your idea. Be inconsistent. Start with your anti-checklist. Your actual plan becomes the inverse of that list. Listen obsessively. Be ruthlessly frugal. Test everything. Be more consistent on what moves the needle. Seek smarter advisors. The path forward becomes clear from the list of things to avoid. Inversion gets rid of mental traps, shows you what matters, and stops you from making the same thinking errors. If you want to think clearly, start thinking backwards.
Category:
E-Commerce
Halloween candy shoppers who bought Reese’s pumpkin-shaped candy said they felt tricked when the picture on the outside packaging didn’t exactly match the treat inside. They were so upset, in fact, that they filed a lawsuit in late 2023 seeking $5 million in damages. Now a judge has dismissed their claims. At issue is Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins, whose wrappers show an image of a pumpkin-shaped candy with a jack-o’-lantern face carved into the chocolate outer layer. In reality, the chocolate inside is faceless. In a class-action suit filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida, plaintiffs claimed Reese’s candy wrappers were deceptive. According to court documents, plaintiffs thought “the product contained a cute looking carving of a pumpkin’s mouth and eyes as pictured on the product packaging” and said they would not have made the purchase had they known the chocolates would not actually feature those decorative details. [Images: USDC/Middle District of Florida] Reese’s maker the Hershey Co. didn’t buy it. The confectioner noted the Halloween-themed packaging also included images of uncarved pumpkin chocolates and a disclaimer reading “decorating suggestion” to indicate the carvings were an idea to try yourself. The class-action suit claimed the “decorating suggestion” disclaimer was printed in tiny letters on the back and thus inadequate, but a judge didn’t agree and wrote that these consumers ultimately got what they were after: edible candy. “Plaintiffs paid for a consumable good, and in return, they received a delicious, edible Reese’s product,” Judge Melissa Damian wrote in her order granting a motion to dismiss on September 26. “Plaintiffs have failed to allege facts demonstrating a concrete injury.” It’s common for packaged foods to include disclaimers like “enlarged to show texture” and “product may not appear exactly as shown” for exactly this reason. No, your Cheerios aren’t actually that big, and no, your Reese’s pumpkin-shaped peanut butter cup doesn’t come pre-carved. For Hershey, which accounts for some 36% of the U.S. chocolate market, according to PitchBook data, these disclaimers are a way to guard against frivolous lawsuits when the company wants to use something other than ultrarealistic product images on its packaging. Like a box of cake mix that shows a picture of a finished cake on the outside, the Reese’s wrapper wasn’t showing what the candy looked like upon opening it, but what it could look like after some DIY carving. For those who can’t bear to eat a pumpkin Reeses without a jack-o-lantern grin, the message here is clear: You’re better off with a toothpick and some creativity than a multimillion-dollar lawsuit.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||