
Even the most efficient office can house employees who are workers in name only. How do they do it? How can they go so long without getting caught? An article in
Forbes breaks down some of their habits, perhaps so managers can figure out their tricks and catch them. Much of their activity, it seems, is centered around creating the illusion of work: for example, never emptying your voicemail box can give the impression you're so busy you don't even have time to get to all your messages. If work does somehow manage to filter down, getting expectations so low might prompt the boss to assign the task to someone else. Of course, people don't just expect employees not to rock the boat, they also want results. The Forbes article says for this reason habitual non-workers get good at stealing credit from others, giving the appearance that they're much more productive than they actually are.
Of course, all this raises to mind the question of why people put so much work into not having to work. If slacking becomes a full time job, is it really slacking?