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Work-shy Gen Z are using a sneaky workplace trick to fool older bosses and keep their jobs amid mass layoffs
A new workplace trend is spreading among Gen Z employees revealing how desperate they are to avoid the chop amid mass layoffs.
'Task masking', as it is known on social media, is the act of looking extremely busy in the office even if there is relatively little to do.
Actions such as carrying a laptop across the office, having printed out sheets of paper on your desk, hunching over your screen and typing furiously are all part of the façade.
The tricks are promoted by TikTok and Instagram influencers to nervous Gen Z workers that are becoming increasingly alarmed about the reality of losing their jobs.
Major companies including Microsoft and Amazon have revealed plans for cutbacks as AI continues to disrupt the workforce.
Young workers are particularly vulnerable to the sweeping cuts as they have yet to gain the experience and skills that may help them to be seen as more integral to a business.
It also comes as more white collar workers are being ordered back to the office after years of homeworking following the pandemic.
Some Gen Z employees have never known their roles outside of their bedrooms and seek guidance on social media about how to present themselves in the work environment.
Gen Z employees are finding new ways to appear busy in the office
Influencer Gabriella Judge makes content about 'task masking' for her 500,000 followers because she sees the disillusionment her generation is experiencing when it comes to work.
'Baby Boomers gained the most out of corporate America. It was a meritocracy,' Judge told the Financial Times.
'We weren't raised with that same optimism... Our parents, Gen X, were just demolished by things.
'They had 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis . . . Gen Z folks are like, well, I know that this work stuff won't take care of me.'
Experts argue that the creation and consumption of this contents speaks to the broader insecurity of the job market.
'Gen Zers are talking among themselves about how to ensure they are A, being as productive as possible, and B, seeming as productive as possible, so that they're not laid off or replaced by AI,' Amanda Edelman, chief operating officer of Edelman's Gen Z Lab told the FT.
Edelman's Gen Z Lab, which conducts research to help businesses understand those aged 13 to 28, has found that 37 percent of Gen Z workers are worried about losing their job, more than any other generation.
Around 60 percent of Gen Z are also not confident they will land a good job this year, according to the research.
Gen Z try to look busy at work
'It would be trite to say that young people are lazy' David Wreford, partner at Mercer consulting group told the FT.
'We need to think about the extent to which there has been a breakdown in the contract between young people today and the promise of work.'
Jobs jettisoned
Some of America's biggest companies have announced sweeping job cuts this year.
In May, Walmart — America's largest employer — announced it was cutting 1,500 jobs from its tech operations and e-commerce teams.
Procter & Gamble, the owner of Tide detergent and Gillette shaving products, said it would eliminate 7,000 positions.
Job losses have been even more pronounced in the tech sector, with the implementation of AI marking a major shift for American workers.
Microsoft — one of the leading firms investing in AI — is expected to lay off thousands of employees next month as it shifts resources toward deeper investments.
Intel, the flagging tech giant, is also letting go of 10 to 15 percent of its manufacturing staff.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently said the quiet part out loud: the technology will uproot thousands of Americans from their jobs.
'As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,' he wrote in a memo to employees.
'It's hard to know exactly where this nets out over time, but in the next few years, we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce.'
