“Seeing my status turn to ‘away’ on the company messenger when I don’t move my mouse for a while was incredibly stressful. Even stepping out for a coffee would immediately alert my boss that I was away.”
Lee, a 30-year-old employee at a small business in Gangnam district, Seoul, recently downloaded a program that automatically moves his computer mouse. He finds it very useful as it allows him to appear busy even when he is away from his desk. In this digital age, as attendance management systems become smarter, employees’ evasion tactics are also evolving. The battle of wits between employees developing new ways to slack off and companies trying to prevent it has intensified, especially following the remote work trend during the coronavirus pandemic.
The traditional method of pretending to work by draping a suit jacket over an office chair is now a thing of the past. In South Korea, workers are employing various “digital slacking” tactics to evade supervision and delay tasks. According to a survey conducted by WEEKLY BIZ through SM C&C’s Tillion Pro survey platform among 1,175 workers aged 20-50, responses regarding digital slacking methods included manipulating internal messenger statuses (40.3%), altering chat windows to mimic work applications (33.9%), and displaying screensavers or different screens (20.9%).
Remote and virtual workers tend to slack off more than their office-based counterparts. The survey revealed that 33.3% of remote workers admitted to slacking off for more than two hours a day, compared to 12.7% of office workers. Some 14.6% of remote workers admitted to slacking off for more than four hours a day.
This phenomenon is not unique to South Korea. In the United States, a device called a “mouse mover” is popular among employees, according to Forbes and other local media. Microsoft Teams, a widely used business messenger among American workers, shows an “away” status icon if the user is inactive for just 15 minutes. To avoid this, workers place their mouse on the “mouse jiggler” device, which keeps the mouse moving and makes it appear as if they are working. Some employees also use methods like keeping a PowerPoint presentation open to maintain a “working” status.
There are even bold employees who go on unreported vacations. Newsweek reported on the rise of a culture of “quiet vacationing,” where workers sneak off to vacation spots and work remotely without officially taking leave. This trend is more prevalent among Millennials (ages 28 to 43) compared to Gen Z (ages 18 to 27). While Gen Z feels comfortable declaring their time off, Millennials tend to secretly take time off due to fear of their supervisors’ reactions. In a survey conducted by Harris Poll in April among 1,170 American workers, 37% of Millennial respondents admitted to taking such unofficial vacations, compared to 24% of Gen Z workers.
This article was originally published on June 20, 2024.
