Typing loudly, wearing AirPods: ‘taskmasking’ is how Gen Z pretends to work at the office

As more companies mandate a return to the office, young workers learn to game the system to take back control

As employers crack down on hybrid work, insisting that the US corporate class head back to the office, gen Z reckons with a dilemma. How do you appear to look busy enough to appease an ever-present boss?

Thirty years ago, Seinfeld’s George Costanza had a theory: “Always look annoyed.” That way, “people think that you’re busy.” Today, performative productivity goes by a new name.

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