Remember quiet quitting? Gen Z just gave it a makeover, and it's called "task masking."

While their millennial coworkers actually work late, Gen Zers have mastered the art of appearing swamped while coasting. Think scheduled emails at midnight, calendars packed with fake meetings, and constant complaints about their "crushing workload."

Career coach Madeline Mann breaks it down: "Task masking is essentially looking like you are busy doing important work, when it's more to keep up appearances."

The Return-to-Office Problem

This trend exploded when companies dragged everyone back to offices. At home, you could finish tasks efficiently without the theater. In offices you need to perform productivity like you're auditioning for Employee of the Month.

A Workhuman poll found over one-third of UK workers admit to "fake productivity." They're typing furiously while shopping online, attending meetings about meetings, and sending "just circling back" emails about nothing.

Mann sees clear connections to quiet quitting: "Both focus on underachieving and putting in less effort at work." But unlike quiet quitting's obvious slacking, task masking might actually get you promoted—until it doesn't.

Why Gen Z Perfected This Game

Gen Z entered the workforce differently than any generation before. They're digital natives who missed years of in-person social development. Mann notes educators and managers see "a difference in Gen Z's ability to develop soft skills, and Gen Z's anxiety around human interaction."

But they're not stupid. They quickly spotted how corporate theater works and found ways to game it. Why kill yourself when Brad from accounting gets promoted for sending late-night emails about synergy?

The Dangerous Long Game

Here's where task masking backfires. In the short term you look like a rock star, but long term you're in trouble.

"Task masking can hurt younger employees because they won't have measurable value and accomplishments to show," Mann warns. No real achievements means no raises, no promotions, no good references. When layoffs hit or AI starts eyeing your job, you've got nothing to prove your worth.

3 Ways to Stop Faking It Without Burning Out

1. Admit You Don’t Like Your Job
Research shows dissatisfied Gen Z and millennial workers engage in task masking and quiet quitting. If you're mentally exhausted daily, you're probably in the wrong role. Mann was miserable task-masking in market research but thrived when she switched to HR.

2. Focus on High-Impact Visibility
Stop the busy work. Instead, Mann suggests: Drop one meaningful message in company chat daily. Update your manager weekly. Check in with key people monthly. Three simple actions that actually matter.

3. Control Your Workload Transparently
Present your own tracking metrics to your boss. Show what you've accomplished, your priorities, and where you're stuck. When they pile on more work, ask what to deprioritize. This visibility prevents overload while showing you're actually working.

The Reality Check

Task masking feels clever until you realize you're building a career on smoke and mirrors. In a world where everyone's job security hangs by a thread, having nothing real to show for your time is career suicide.

The solution isn't working yourself to death. It's finding work worth doing and boundaries worth setting. Because eventually, all that fake productivity catches up. And when it does, those midnight emails won't save you.