A new survey from Resume Now, a resume and cover letter building service, reveals that a significant number of employees are engaging in ghostworking – pretending to work while doing little to no meaningful work. 

According to the Ghostworking Report, 58% of employees admit to regularly pretending to be working, and another 34% occasionally engage in similar behavior. And 92% of workers have job-searched during their work hours.

As companies explore ways to improve productivity, the data suggests that time-wasting isn’t just about distractions – it’s also about the pressure to appear busy. Employees have developed creative strategies to maintain the illusion of productivity.

Ghostworking: The Strategies Behind It

The survey highlights the common strategies employees use to create the illusion of productivity at work:

  • 23% of employees admit to walking around the office with a notebook to look busy.
  • 22% have typed randomly to appear engaged.
  • 15% have held a phone to their ear with no real call.
  • 15% have kept a spreadsheet open while browsing unrelated content.
  • 12% have scheduled fake meetings to avoid real work.
  • 12% of respondents said they never fake productivity.

“Many employees feel pressure to appear busy rather than actually being productive,” said Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now. “Rather than focusing on monitoring, companies should explore why employees feel the need to fake productivity and consider addressing underlying issues like unproductive meetings and communication gaps.”

Job Hunting on Company Time

The survey found that 92% of workers have job-searched during work hours.

  • 55% of employees have regularly searched for a new job while on the clock.
  • 37% have occasionally searched for a new job during work hours.
  • The most common job-hunting move is using company time to edit resumes (24%).
  • Applying for jobs using work computers (23%) and taking recruiter calls from the office (20%) are also significant actions.
  • A smaller group (19%) has snuck out for an interview.

Remote vs. Office Work: Where Are Employees Wasting More Time?

The survey revealed that work setting impacts time-wasting habits:

  • 47% of employees feel they waste more time when working from home.
  • 37% said they waste more time in the office.
  • 16% said they waste about the same amount of time in both settings.

Biggest Distractions at Work

Employees identified the most common distractions they face in the workplace:

In the Office:

  • Technical issues, such as slow internet and software problems (16%).
  • Coffee/lunch breaks that run long (15%).
  • Corporate socializing, such as office birthdays and team lunches (15%).
  • Chatty coworkers (14%).
  • Random interruptions from managers (14%).
  • Office noise (11%).

When Working Remotely:

  • Background noise from housemates (40%).
  • Internet or power outages (35%).
  • Family members not respecting work hours (35%).
  • Household emergencies (33%).
  • Loud construction from neighbors (32%).
  • Pets disrupting important calls (32%).
  • Unexpected doorbell interruptions (27%).

Would Monitoring Improve Productivity?

The survey also explored whether monitoring employee activity would increase productivity:

  • 69% of employees believe they would be more productive if their employer monitored their screen time.
  • 19% said monitoring would not change their work habits.
  • 10% said they would just find other ways to take breaks.
  • 3% said it wouldn’t matter because they already stay focused.

Pictured at top: Image via Resume Now.