Employees who talk about their workload more than actually working can be a major drain on workplace morale and productivity. How can HR keep this behaviour in check?

“I’ve got so much work to do.”

“I haven’t had a break since I got here.”

“I can’t remember the last time I left on time!”

If you’ve been on the receiving end of complaints like this, you’ll know how damaging ‘busy culture’ can be to morale, productivity and teamwork.

When a culture of chronic busyness creeps into the workplace, some employees can feel pressure to be somewhat performative about their workload to assure their peers and managers that they’re doing their part. 

However, employees constantly talking about how much they have on their plates can have a number of negative knock-on effects. Besides its impact on morale, busy culture can hamper productivity by creating a situation where employees spend more time talking about their workload than getting work done. 

The prevalence of this behaviour was recently laid bare by global research conducted by Slack, which found that employees spend around 32 per cent of their time on performative work that gives the appearance of productivity.

Taking proactive steps to keep busy culture to a minimum can help employers not only boost productivity, but also create more balanced, genuine and supportive work cultures.

The rise of the ‘loud labourer’

Employees who perpetuate busy culture have been dubbed ‘loud labourers’, with many pointing out the harmful impact they can have on workplace culture.

“Loud labourers are focusing on looking, acting or being perceived as being productive rather than what they’re actually accomplishing,” says Sally McKibbin, Career Expert at Indeed.

In many ways, the loud labour trend is the antithesis of ‘quiet quitting‘, which gained widespread popularity about two years ago. While quiet quitting is a way for employees to push back against busy culture by putting in the minimum amount of effort required to do their job, loud labour is a way for employees to avoid being seen as slacking off or not pulling their weight.

One of the drivers of this trend has been the shift towards hybrid and remote work. When employees are working away from the workplace, they can sometimes feel that their work and achievements are invisible unless they actively draw attention to them. 

Moreover, increasing fears over job security could be driving employees to emphasise their achievements in order to safeguard their employment.

In fact, recent research from Gartner shows that the number of employees choosing to work more than their minimum job requirements has risen to a four-year high, as workers look to protect themselves from redundancy.

While discretionary efforts are welcome in a challenging talent landscape, an environment where employees feel the need to broadcast their workloads in order to feel secure is not conducive to productivity or psychosocial safety. When employees don’t feel the need to work performatively, meaningful tasks are likely to get done faster and to a higher quality.

“The more we learn about multitasking, [the more we learn] we’re not good at it. We don’t do any one task well when we’re trying to do too many tasks.” – Sally McKibbin, Career Expert at Indeed

3 tips to keep busy culture to a minimum

In order to keep busy culture from hampering productivity and mental health, McKibbin suggests a number of steps employers can take to address these negative behaviours and prevent them from arising. 

1. Reward output rather than visibility

Since the rise of hybrid and remote work, the pressure to be constantly visible and reachable during work hours has significantly increased, says McKibbin. 

Remote employees are sometimes concerned that, if they don’t respond to a message immediately, their employers may assume they’re offline or slacking off. However, this attitude can be incredibly counterproductive, she says.

“The more we learn about multitasking, [the more we learn] we’re not good at it. We don’t do any one task well when we’re trying to do too many tasks.”

Slack’s research shows 27 per cent of global executives rely on visibility and activity metrics to measure productivity, which can contribute to this dynamic developing among dispersed teams. 

Instead, McKibbin suggests employers focus on rewarding output. If employees are rewarded for being productive without working late or stretching themselves too thin, this will develop the understanding that constant busyness is not the goal.

2. Model good behaviour

Given that loud labour can be prevalent among managers as well as more junior employees, it’s imperative that strategies to manage it are led from the very top, says McKibbin.

“As a manager, as a senior leader or as the CEO, it’s about modelling that good behaviour – [for example], maybe you leave at 4.30 one day because you want to go get a facial or massage, or you’re going to pick up the kids. Encourage people to see that that’s okay,” she says.

Actions like this send a clear message that success and productivity are not measured by the number of hours worked but by the quality and efficiency of the work done. 

3. Learn to distinguish between loud labour and genuine workload pressures

If an employee is being vocal about their workload and the pressure they’re under, employers should not immediately slap the ‘loud labourer’ label on them, says McKibbin. 

The employee may be genuinely reaching out for help about an unmanageable workload rather than projecting the illusion of busyness.

“I think really clear and open communication is the key to deciding which person is the loud labourer and which person actually needs some help,” she says.

“But with either of those people, making sure that you’re constantly having check-ins and helping them understand what their priorities are [is really important].”

If managers are regularly supporting their people with time and workload management, this will contribute to a healthier work culture where busyness is not worn as a badge of honour, McKibbin explains. In a culture like this, loud labour is less likely to arise in the first place, meaning that workload complaints are more likely to be genuine and resolvable.

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