Good results at work should be celebrated, not punished. But some toxic bosses reward efficiency with even more work. There is a pervasive myth in managerial circles that employees need to be constantly busy every single second of the workday or be branded ‘lazy.’ However, the 8 to 5 model doesn’t quite fit how people work, especially when it comes to cognitive tasks. Research shows that your average employee is only productive for 3 hours per day.

Redditor u/68Cadillac opened up on the r/MaliciousCompliance online group about how their boss dumped a bunch of busywork on them when they saw an empty desk. This taught them an essential lesson about how many organizations and managers function and how to use appearances against them. Check out the full story below.

Bored Panda reached out to the author of the story, u/68Cadillac, to hear their thoughts about establishing boundaries when it comes to extra work. You’ll find our interview with them below.

Some hard-working employees are incredibly efficient and get great results. However, their bosses ‘reward’ them only with additional tasks

Image credits: Pressmaster (Not the actual photo)

An internet user shared how they were given tons of busywork simply because they were good at their job and kept their desk tidy

Image credits: paegagz (Not the actual photo)

Image credits: paegagz (Not the actual photo)

Image credits: 68Cadillac

Additional work without any tangible benefits is going to end up reducing morale

Even if the team gets excellent results and gets their work done quicker, there are some bosses who hate seeing their employees twiddling their thumbs. In their mind, every single moment in the office should be spent for the benefit of the company or organization.

However, there are two issues here. First of all, there’s only a limited amount of energy and focus that your average staff member can put into their work. After a certain point, they’re unproductive and need rest. Especially where creative work is concerned.

Secondly, you have to consider what the tangible rewards for taking on additional work are. Is it a better salary and better career prospects? Or is it just more work, vague praise, and the promises of a promotion in five years’ time?

Even if you love your job and see purpose in what you’re doing, at a certain point, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth burning out for no reward. Meanwhile, your colleagues might be doing far less for the same salary and enjoying a far healthier work-life balance!

Look, we’re not saying that hard work or extra effort isn’t valuable. It is! But let’s not be naive: not every manager likes over-achievers, and some want to punish them for their success. Meanwhile, you need to prioritize your own welfare.

Your career is going to be a very long marathon, no matter if you plan on climbing the corporate ladder or avoiding it entirely. You want to avoid burnout as much as possible. But that’s hard to do if management is hellbent on getting results and lacks empathy.

Burnout is a massive, widespread problem among working adults

One survey by Deloitte found that 77% of all employees have experienced burnout at their current job. Over half admitted that this has happened more than once.

A ‘Future Forum’ report found that 42% of 10,243 global workers reported burnout in February 2023. Flexibility (or rather a lack of it) has a lot to do with this. The report noted that employees who are dissatisfied with their level of flexibility are 43% more likely to feel burned out.

Fortune reports that 82% of workers are at risk of burnout this year, as many employers don’t design work with their staff’s well-being in mind.

Meanwhile, a Cigna International Health survey from 2023, which looked at 12,000 employees from all around the planet, found that younger workers are more affected by workplace stress. 91% of 18 to 24-year-olds were stressed, compared to the average of 84%.

Learning to stand up for your own interests, and enforcing healthy boundaries, is a must in a corporate environment

The author of the post shared a few thoughts on why some managers might believe that their employees should be busy every single moment of the workday. Though, they added a caveat, that these are just speculations, as they’ve never managed people directly before.

“Maybe it’s as simple as if a worker isn’t working then a manager isn’t managing. The last thing ‘strawboss’ wants is their boss looking at all these workers who don’t appear to be productive and thinking, ‘this manager under-utilizes employees, I need to give them more work,'” u/68Cadillac told Bored Panda.

The author had some practical tips to share with anyone who’s completely new to the job industry and keeps getting extra work to do.

“Join a union. Share pay and salary numbers with other workers. Collective bargain. Never work more than you’re paid to work. Don’t be shamed or guilted into doing extra,” they advised.

“If management expects more work from you than the time allotted, ask why. Why didn’t they hire more workers? Why didn’t they manage better? Why didn’t they reduce the scope? Why didn’t they extend the deadline? Why haven’t they provided you better training?” they listed some potential questions that workers can ask their bosses if they have a penchant for handing out unfair workloads.

Redditor u/68Cadillac shared another experience that shows their former workplace’s ‘philosophy’ on management. “I once overheard the owner of the company I worked for ‘joking’ with upper management that he should make everyone work extra hours because ‘they spend so much time drinking coffee and going to the bathroom.'” The author once again stressed the importance of unionizing.

Working long hours doesn’t always give the best results. The average employee is truly productive for only a few hours every day

‘Voucher Cloud,’ which looked at the work habits of nearly 2,000 British employees, found that, on average, workers spend 2 hours and 53 minutes each day productively. The rest of the time is spent on work distractions.

According to the survey, employees spent around 25 minutes preparing and eating snacks and making tea.

Workers also spent 44 minutes throughout the workday checking social media, over an hour checking the news, 40 minutes talking about non-work stuff with their colleagues, and 14 minutes texting someone.

18 minutes were spent, on average, calling one’s partners and friends. Meanwhile, your average employee also spent 26 minutes—you’ll never guess!—looking for a new job.

(Side note: it would be healthier for everyone if the entire job market suddenly stopped pretending to look busy, worked enough to get good results, and could clock out to live their best lives. Many people are very good at working more efficiently than they let on in public. Work satisfaction would probably skyrocket if good results were actually rewarded!)

Do your managers reward you for efficiency, or do they punish you by giving you even more work, dear Pandas? How do you deal with situations where someone tries to burden you with overtime and busywork?

What do you think could help management and employees trust each other more? Have you ever walked around with random documents and a frown on your face to appear busy? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. We’d like to hear your take on all of this.

The story made quite an impact on the online community. Here’s what some readers had to say about poor management

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