As more employees are called back into the office, a new workplace trend is emerging, especially among Gen Z: task masking. This growing phenomenon involves looking busy while doing little meaningful ...

Gen Z is adopting the trend of task masking. Here’s how managers can effectively respond. What is task masking, exactly? Well, if you’re at a loss, you’re not alone. It took me about an hour to even ...

When return-to-office mandates started to rise post-pandemic, many workers who had become accustomed to getting tasks done remotely at home (and at their own pace) were presented with a new problem.

TikTok has been abuzz with the workplace trend “task-masking” — that is, making yourself look busy so that your boss thinks you’re hard at work. Cue behaviors like pounding hard on the keyboard, ...

To continue reading this content, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings and refresh this page. Preview this article 1 min The growth of task masking comes ...

Mar 25, 2025, 6:42am CDT Updated: Mar 25, 2025, 7:11am CDT Image provided by Getty Images (Portra) The dynamic between managers and employees has new stakes as more workers return to the office.