Fauxductivity and Desk Bombing

Growing up binge-watching shows like Parks and Recreation and How I Met Your Mother, I had this colourful idea of what office life would look like.

A quiet resistance to corporate performance culture

Growing up binge-watching shows like Parks and Recreation and How I Met Your Mother, I had this colourful idea of what office life would look like. I pictured the endless hustle of government offices, as seen with Leslie Knope’s enthusiastic chaos, or the laid-back, suit-wearing coolness of Ted and Barney in the corporate world. To me, corporate life was all about bustling offices with the sound of keyboards clicking, the ding of constant Slack messages and people running from one meeting to another. While these sitcoms do provide a fairly good picture of what offices look like, little do they explain that behind it all, there was this quiet undercurrent of rebellion. This wasn’t about laziness, but it was more of a survival tactic. People were moving through the motions but finding clever ways to skirt the grind. This was the era of “fauxductivity”-a subtle art of looking busy while doing very little. And at the centre of it was an unexpected tool:  desk bombing.

The Illusion of Work: A Corporate Survival Tactic

A common notion that arises with stereotypes and stigma existing around Gen Z in workplaces is that fauxductivity is about laziness or procrastination. However, it is more of a calculated response to a system that values visibility over value and busyness over impact. Think about it: when was the last time you were praised for quite finishing a project ahead of the deadline? Now compare it to the colleague who sends late-night emails and stacks meetings just to “align on priorities”.

The corporate world has turned into a stage, and we are all just struggling to play our part. The script? Just look busy, stay visible and never let anyone catch you with a moment to spare. Enter  desk bombing: the casual “drop by with a quick question” or “just wanted to pick your brain” moment. On the surface, it is an interruption that seems irrelevant. But as we dig deeper, we find that it is a symptom and a manifestation of a culture that rewards performative work over actual results. (Why Organisations Don’t Learn, 2015)

Desk Bombing: The Fuel for Fauxductivity

The idea of desk bombing is a reflection of deeper issues pertaining to the work culture in today’s time. When someone shows up unannounced, they aren’t just taking your time. They are perpetuating the idea that constant availability is more valued than focused, meaningful work. It is a tool that reinforces a system where instant responses and performative busyness are prioritised over productivity. (Fauxductivity, n.d.)

Consider an average day at work where you start with a long list of tasks. You barely make it through a few of them before the interruptions begin. Colleagues drop by your desk to “brainstorm” ideas that could have been emails, the manager is constantly dropping in for a “touch base” meeting, and team members are constantly pinging you with emails marked “URGENT” but rarely essential. By the end of the day, you feel drained yet have finished next to nothing from your actual pile of tasks. The attempt to finish tasks often makes you stay till late, which earns you appreciation for the same.

It is hard to miss the irony here. You are not productive; you are simply overworked. This paradox of desk bombing creates a false sense of collaboration while throwing away real productivity.

The Cost of Rebellion

Fauxductivity isn’t just hurting companies; it is hurting employees at a personal level too. The constant pressure to look busy leads to burnout, stress, and a sense of emptiness. (Burnout: An “Occupational Phenomenon”, 2019)

Desk Bombing, even though a symptom of the problem, also exacerbates this, leaving everyone drained.

Yet there is a glimmer of hope. Companies and HRs are now realising that it’s essential to cultivate a culture of psychological safety to offset productivity anxiety and fauxductivity. In a previous Workhuman report, it has been identified that low productivity and fauxductivity are symptoms of poor culture, “creating a toxic cycle of performative productivity and performance anxiety”. And the solution is in addressing systemic cultural issues rather than scrutinising individual workers. (Creating a Trust-Based Culture: Navigating Layoffs, Productivity Anxiety and Work-Life Balance, 2025)

A Call to Redefine Productivity

The productivity rebellion is a wake-up call. It is a reminder that productivity is about creating value and not just looking busy. Managers themselves are in a position to break this system and promote a culture that allows employees to be human and speak up when they are struggling. By overcoming the need to keep up appearances and being vocal about taking a break, a newer approach to work can be cultivated. (Fauxductivity: Why Your Boss Might Be Faking Productivity, 2024)

Managers and leaders with authority hold a deeper responsibility to identify and contribute to fixing the issue.

They must identify the loud labourers that are more concerned with the appearance of getting work done, and rewarding this behaviour might reinforce it.
Leaders should focus on streamlining workflows wherever possible. Minimising unnecessary challenges and reducing friction is a good way to empower teams to focus on achieving goals rather than struggling to find their way out of endless bureaucratic tasks.
Promoting flexibility at work, getting things done and keeping a check on tasks without micromanaging the employees is a good way to make them feel valued and trusted. (Sutton, 2024)
So the next time you feel like dropping by someone at work, ask yourself: Is it truly necessary? Or am I just playing into the theatre of busyness? The next time you find yourself engaged in fauxductivity, remember it’s not you; it’s the system! But systems can change, and so can we.

The revolution won’t be loud. It won’t be dramatic. But if we are lucky, it will be productive.

Authors: Adhyaa Malik, Undergraduate Student, FLAME University & Prof. Moitrayee Das, Faculty of Psychology, FLAME University.