A large number of employees are engaging in “ghostworking”—pretending to work while doing little to no actual work—according to a recent survey, which also reveals that 92% of workers say they’ve job-searched during work hours.
Resume Now’s latest Ghostworking Report, which includes the results of a survey that polled 1,127 U.S. workers in February, found that 58% of employees admit to regularly pretending to be working, while another 34% occasionally engage in similar behavior.
“As companies explore ways to improve productivity, the data suggests that time-wasting isn’t just about distractions—it’s also about the pressure to appear busy,” said Resume Now, a resume building platform. “Employees have developed creative strategies to maintain the illusion of productivity, even as many report wasting more time while working remotely than in the office.”
The survey highlights the common strategies employees use to create the illusion of productivity at work:
- 23% of employees admit to walking around the office with a notebook to look busy.
- 22% have typed randomly to appear engaged.
- 15% have held a phone to their ear with no real call, while another 15% have kept a spreadsheet open while browsing unrelated content.
- 12% have scheduled fake meetings to avoid real work.
- 12% of respondents said they never fake productivity.
“Many employees feel pressure to appear busy rather than actually being productive,” Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now, said in a statement. “Rather than focusing on monitoring, companies should explore why employees feel the need to fake productivity and consider addressing underlying issues like unproductive meetings and communication gaps.”
The survey found that a whopping 92% of employees have looked for a new job during work hours. Specifically, the survey points out that:
- 55% of employees have regularly searched for a new job while on the clock.
- 37% have occasionally searched for a new job during work hours.
- The most common bold job-hunting move is using company time to edit resumes (24%).
- Applying for jobs using work computers (23%) and taking recruiter calls from the office (20%) are also significant actions.
- A smaller group (19%) has snuck out for an interview.
The survey also reveals that the work setting—remote versus office—impacts time-wasting habits:
- 47% of employees feel they waste more time when working from home.
- 37% say they waste more time in the office.
- 16% say they waste about the same amount of time in both settings.
Employees identified the most common distractions they face in the workplace. Distractions in the office include:
- Technical issues, such as slow internet or software problems (16%)
- Coffee/lunch breaks that run long (15%)
- Corporate socializing, such as office birthdays or team lunches (15%)
- Chatty co-workers (14%)
- Random interruptions from managers (14%)
- Office noise (11%)
Distractions while working remotely include:
- Background noise from housemates (40%)
- Internet or power outages (35%)
- Family members not respecting work hours (35%)
- Household emergencies (33%)
- Loud construction from neighbors (32%)
- Pets disrupting important calls (32%)
- Unexpected doorbell interruptions (27%)
The survey also explored whether monitoring employee activity would increase productivity:
- 69% of employees believe they would be more productive if their employer monitored their screen time.
- 19% say monitoring would not change their work habits.
- 10% say they would just find other ways to take breaks.
- 3% say it wouldn’t matter because they already stay focused.
Methodology
The findings provided were gathered through a survey conducted with 1,127 American workers on Feb. 25, 2025. Participants were asked about their time-wasting habits, workplace distractions, and the frequency of procrastination at work. Participants responded to various question types, including yes/no questions, open-ended questions, scale-based questions gauging agreement levels, and questions that permitted the selection of multiple options from a list of answers.
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Tags: employees, job search, Payroll
