There’s a new buzzword in the air, and it isn’t from TikTok. It’s also easy to figure out what it means. Get ready to add ‘task-masking’ to your growing vocabulary of trendy terms to describe old behaviour.
The Personnel Today staff collectively suppressed a collective yawn when they heard the term “task masking”. The phrase “task masking” is a little bland, without the alliteration “quiet quitting” or the mystique of “lazy girls jobs”.
According to a jolly communique from PracticeAptitudeTests.com, employees (devious hominids on the whole, clearly) are employing sly tactics to avoid doing their jobs. The space bar on the keyboard can be weighted to prevent the screen from going to sleep. This naughty ploy was not mentioned in the PT Office, where screens often fall asleep as operators try to continue working.
Guy Thornton, the founder of PracticeAptitudeTests.com reassures us that “there are ways to detect even the sneakiest of skivers”.
He says: “By focusing on key indicators for productivity declines, it is possible to take informed action to solve the problem.”
It’s a sign that someone isn’t working hard enough when they give simple tasks long names.
For example, you can use “I engaged in verbal communication to answer the inquiry that came through” instead of “I picked up the phone.”
The PT team disputed that. Even hardworking people can use ridiculously long sentences. Guy Thornton used the phrase, “By paying close attention to key indicators for productivity declines, it is possible to take informed steps to solve the problem.”
Mr Thornton should have said “take action” if he noticed a drop in productivity. He may have been influenced by the language used by slackers, just as one might pick up an Aussie accent if they lived there for some time.
He points out, too, that “overly detailed descriptions of simple tasks are often an indication of someone trying inflate the importance of those tasks”.
We all agreed that he was right. We’ve all done this – afterall, if don’t paint yourself as being more important than others, then no one will.
Thornton says that if a worker consistently asks for “more time” to do research, but never moves on to the implementation phase, it could be a sign of a problem.
He suggests a “softly softly” approach. “If you suspect that an employee spends excessive time researching, explain to them that other tasks should be prioritised and you would appreciate their assistance in doing so.
He says that if employees procrastinate by doing endless “research,” they might be overwhelmed or burned out. Offering them smaller, alternative tasks can ease their workload.
Not all excuses are just a way to avoid doing the work. That’s good news.
It is likely that “task masking”, which sounds similar to the negative term “taskmaster”, will eventually find its way into our lexicon.
Some “taskmasters”, to hide their “task-mastering”, have even used “task masking”. You should be on the lookout for these.
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