I catch myself doing it, even now. It’s an involuntary twitch. The second the Slack notification count ticks over three, or the moment my boss’s avatar shows up in the channel list, my mouse hand jumps.
I don’t need to move the mouse. I’m already deep into structuring the quarterly report-the actual work that moves the needle-but I move the mouse anyway. A slight, imperceptible jiggle that keeps the green light on, signaling to the invisible audience that I am
*engaged*, I am
*available*, I am
*working*.
I hate this compulsion. I criticize the whole system that built it, yet there I am, a devoted, miserable participant in the performance. I’ve written 5 articles this month about the tyranny of hyper-availability, and then immediately interrupted my own focused drafting to answer a message that could have waited 45 minutes, all because the fear of the silent accusation-*Where were you?*-is heavier than the deadline itself.
Productivity Theater Defined
This is
Productivity Theater: the relentless, often subconscious act of
demonstrating busyness rather than achieving results. It is the core frustration of the modern knowledge worker.
From Output to Activity
Remote work didn’t cause this epidemic; it merely installed stadium lighting on the stage. The problem has always been that we manage inputs and activity-how many emails, how quickly you respond, how many check-ins you attend-instead of measuring outputs and outcomes.
It has rewired our definition of what a ‘good employee’ even is. Now, too often, the ideal employee is the one who is perpetually available, whose digital pulse is fast and furious, who rewards reactivity and punishes the slow, thoughtful processing that real innovation requires.
Availability Score
Measurable Results
The Cost of Vigilance
“
Think about Anna. She blocks out two hours for ‘Deep Work’ on her shared calendar. This is the ritual sacrifice-the public declaration of focus. But she keeps the Slack app running in the background, minimizing the window but maximizing the internal panic. Every 5 minutes, she peers at the icon. If she misses a critical ping, will her supervisor assume she’s playing video games? That deep, sinking terror of being thought lazy destroys the very focus she tried to create.
This anxiety isn’t cheap. The cost is staggering, not just in mental load but in economic terms. Some analysts estimate that globally, the sheer overhead of context-switching driven by performative communication rituals costs organizations over
$575 billion annually in lost productivity and error remediation.
The Anti-Thesis: Zephyr’s Wisdom
Zephyr taught us that the sheer volume of argument meant nothing. “If you spend 235 words outlining five weak points,” he’d say, “you’ve wasted time, not demonstrated effort. Give me one truly undeniable argument, and spend 5 words on it if that’s all it needs.” He cared only about the quality and precision of the final, delivered product.
This concept becomes painfully clear when you look at industries where the output is physical and tangible. You can’t Slack your way into pouring a foundation or framing a wall. The factory floor or the construction site is the ultimate adversary of performative culture, precisely because it enforces accountability through physical reality.
Accountability in the Tangible World
Take the approach utilized by operations like
Modular Home Ireland. Their work is built on efficiency, standardization, and verifiable progress. The metric is simple: Is the module complete? Does it meet the precise specifications?
2 Days
Boss asked for the destination, not the steps.
I had performed the job of tracking effort so effectively that I completely derailed the job of delivery. That realization was humbling, corrosive, and essential.
The Nuance of Urgency
We took a legitimate tool for urgency (the green dot) and deployed it as a default expectation for all work, including tasks that require sustained, uninterrupted concentration. We swapped deep collaboration for constant interruption.
Dismantling the Stage
The only way out of the theater is to dismantle the stage, starting with how we articulate value. We have to stop rewarding the signal (the fast reply) and start rewarding the substance (the solved problem).
Manage by Trust
Redefine managerial reliance.
Define ‘Done’
Focus on clear deliverables.
Value Minds
Hire for thinking, not signaling.
We are professionals. We were hired for our minds, not for our ability to look busy. If your value is tied to the color of the dot next to your name, you are selling anxiety and reactivity, not intelligence.
The Sacrificed Outcome
What truly extraordinary outcomes are we sacrificing-right now, today-just to avoid the silent accusation of appearing offline?