Ghostworking: 92% Of Employees Job Search On Company Time

Forbes

24-05-2025

A new study reveals ghostworking is killing productivity and that a whopping 92% of employees say ... More they job hunt when they're on the clock.
The trend of ghostworking—pretending to work while doing little to no meaningful work--isn't a new phenomenon. It has been a tactic for employees to react to demands imposed on them from management or the result of their desperation to prove they're working for fear of losing their jobs. It used to be called productivity theater or quiet quitting. Now, ghostworking has taken on a whole new dimension--not just fake working but job hunting when on the clock.
Ghostworking is a sign of the growing mistrust and tug-of-war between employers and employees, as both sides display under-the-radar tactics. Since the pandemic, employers have been engaging in certain types of quiet maneuvering like 'quiet cutting' and employee surveillance to assuage the needs of business and stabilize their workforce.
Employees, under pressure to perform and 'prove' they're working, have retaliated with quiet workaround tactics of their own such as mouse shuffling, 'coffee badging' and 'quiet vacationing.' A new study reveals that ghostworkers are adding insult to injury, not only pretending to work but job hunting on company time.
Resume Now's latest Ghostworking Report indicates a growing productivity crisis of employees faking productivity and even job searching instead of working. The survey was conducted with 1,127 American workers on February 25, 2025. Participants were asked about their time-wasting habits, workplace distractions and the frequency of procrastination at work.
As companies explore ways to prevent killers of productivity, researchers insist that data from this study suggests time-wasting is about the pressure to appear busy. 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 findings reveal that 58% of workers admit they regularly pretend to work and 34% do so occasionally—often due to pressure to appear busy rather than actually being productive. The survey listed the common strategies employees use to create the illusion of productivity at work:
The researchers explain that these behaviors are the result of a widespread disconnect between expectations and engagement. The study reveals that, when you think the divide couldn't get any worse, shocking numbers of employees confess that they job search when they're supposed to be working.
Perhaps the most shocking survey findings are what ghostworkers are doing to kill time. A whopping 92% admit that they have job-searched during work hours, 55% have regularly searched for a new job while on the clock and 37% have occasionally searched for a new job during work hours.
The most common bold job-hunting move is the 24% of ghostworkers who use company time to edit resumes. Another 23% confess to applying for jobs using work computers, 20% admit to taking recruiter calls from the office and 19% say they have sneaked out for an interview.
Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now, sees ghostworking as a symptom of poor communication and burnout. 'Many employees feel pressure to appear busy rather than actually being productive,' he says. '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.'
On the surface, the profile of all ghostworking looks the same. But it's important that employers exercise caution in judging employee motives without knowing the whole story. A deeper look unearths a variety of factors that can lead workers to check out and not measure up to their potential.
Don't judge a book by its cover. The first step employers can take is to distinguish between ghostworkers who are dragging their feet and doing the bare minimum for the wrong reasons and an A-team worker who is engaged, doing the best but burning out. Or a disheartened employee, overlooked for a promotion, but has been committed to the company. It's important to heck in with employees on a regular basis in a non- threatening way and engage employees in a two-way conversation about their emotional state and individual goals that indicate you care and appreciate them.
Give employees a seat at the table. Let them know you see and hear them. Connect with individual workers on a regular basis so they feel valued and appreciated. Open and honest conversations with staff about expectations can make employees feel like they have a vested interest in the company.
Celebrate and acknowledge workers. Most surveys show that the number one quality employees want above all others is feeling valued and appreciated by their company. Create employee appreciation initiatives so team members feel celebrated and acknowledged for their hard work.
Offering growth opportunities for advancement is the ticket to company loyalty. Workers want to know that their company values their development, wants to see them meet their full potential and is willing to support their training, mentoring and coaching.
The Resume Now survey asked employees whether monitoring employee activity would increase productivity, and 69% answer 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 and three percent say it wouldn't matter because they already stay focused.
The larger, more significant view, however, is building employer-employee trust. It's a vicious dance. When employers micro-manage employees, ghostworking is a natural consequence, and when management is aware of ghostworkers, supervision is the result. Both reactions are productivity killers that fuel the cycle. Both sides can end the ghostworking cycle when they place value on productivity over mere visibility and grow a healthier, more productive and engaged workforce.