Why task masking sabotages your career (and what you can do about it)
Anyone who works in an office will recognize this: the pressure to be constantly productive. Your colleagues and maybe even your boss can keep an eye on you, and you don’t want to give them the impression that you are wasting your time. Employees have come up with something for this: task masking. With this trend, it seems like you are working hard, while in reality, you are not. It sounds like an innocent trick to catch your breath, but it can be quite negative for your career.
What is task masking?
Task masking is the trick of appearing very busy while you are actually not productive at all. For example, you might do very unimportant tasks, like prettily formatting a document that isn’t even finished yet, to postpone the bigger tasks a bit longer. Another option: pretending to work while you are actually doing nothing at all. You could, for instance, type very enthusiastically or walk around with your laptop in hand. Also, shutting yourself off with headphones so you can ‘focus’ is a clever trick. If you do it well, no one will notice that you are filling your time with doing nothing. There’s a good chance that your colleagues and your boss won’t ask if you can do anything extra; you already seem busy enough. Well, that’s how it seems.
Why employees engage in task masking
There are actually two reasons why people choose to task mask. For some, it is a kind of protest against their employer. During the home working times of corona, we could still decide what we did when and how we scheduled our breaks; back in the office, that freedom disappears a bit. You can’t just get up to take a moment for yourself, facing that pressure of being productive again. Having to come back to the office and thus being able to make fewer of your own choices weighs heavily on many employees. To regain a bit of control, they start task masking. The employer thinks they are busy while they can actually take a break. A second reason is to prevent burnout. Our to-do lists often already feel endless, so you don’t want anything else added to that. As long as your boss thinks you still have enough to do, a new task is less likely to land on your desk. And being able to catch your breath is also quite nice.
The risks of task masking for your career
Taking a sneaky break sounds quite innocent. However, task masking can have negative consequences for your career. If your boss discovers that you are actually doing nothing, it can send the wrong signal. You give the impression that you have too little to do or that you don’t find the work and the company important enough. With this mindset, promotions or interesting opportunities may come to you less quickly. Ultimately, task masking can also just cause more stress. Important tasks still need to be done; by pushing everything forward, that task list will only get longer. You might have a moment of more rest, but you will only become busier later on. In group projects, task masking will also get in the way of your colleagues. They won’t want to disturb you with questions or tasks because they think you still have enough to do, while that is not the case. This can also prevent them from moving forward, making their task list a bit longer again. Not entirely fair, of course, and not exactly good for the feeling of trust between you.
What to do about task masking?
For those who catch themselves task masking, one reassuring thought: pretending once in a while is really not bad, so don’t be too hard on yourself. If it happens more often and becomes a real problem, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on why you are doing this. You may conclude that you no longer enjoy the role or the company, or that you miss the challenge; then it might be time to look further and seek a This is how you recover from a bore-out: position that gives you energy again. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about your tasks; perhaps mandatory office work is a stumbling block for you. In that case, it can help to discuss this with your employer. There’s a good chance there’s a solution that works for both of you. If not, you can always choose to look for something new. Something will have to change; but continuing to task mask won’t make anyone better.
