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Fake work is evil. Fake work is cancer. Fake work kills.
Fake work has crept into a crevice or corner into an office near you.
And it is destroying America!
Fake Work (FW): A project or task that keeps one or multiple people busy yet has no productive value. It serves to keep an illusion alive that there is still something of productive value being achieved.
Office Space made fake work famous. The Office made fake work routine. Your company has made fake work part of day to day operations. We laugh because it’s funny. We laugh because it’s true.
And we accept it. “Work for work’s sake”.
Sometimes we know it’s FW. Sometimes, FW is conveniently disguised. Other times, we don’t want to know. It can even be comforting to have mountains of fake work, fake projects, and fake tasks because then our positions feel more secure. Your initial response might be: What the hell is he talking about?! I don’t do fake work! Other people do fake work, but not me! You might even know you do fake work but are OK with it. You get rewarded for it with your paycheck. Fake work has been undeniably woven into the very fabric of how things are done in corporate society.
How many times have you been assigned a task or project and thought to yourself:
How is this even productive?
Is this really what they are having me do?
What is the purpose of this?
I can’t believe how inefficient this is! There has to be a better way.
Fake work makes managers look good, because it appears as though their underlings are busy and occupied with important projects that add value. It makes employees look good because it appears as though something of substance is being accomplished. However, fake work does nothing but suck away money, resources, and time away from an organization. How much of the 40, 60, or 80 hour work week is real work being done? With all the “important” meetings, conference calls, endless email streams, and voice mails, it can be difficult to distinguish between real work and fake work. Many times, fake work and real work feel the same. You might even fail to recognize your work as fake and not worthwhile. You assume there is a purpose for your work, but you don’t know what it is. You are unaware that your work actually provides no value. Everyone in the corporate hierarchy whether they are aware or not is involved in some way in the fake work machine.
Fake work factories across the globe pump out draft after draft of reports that nobody will see. People attend useless meetings without a clear agenda that usually result in the scheduling of other meetings. Endless projects have begun without a clear vision or plan for implementation. And there is no end in sight.
Fake work is a cancer without a known cure.
