Half of Belgian Employees Admit to Pretending to Work, Survey Finds

A recent survey by human resources firm RH Liantis has revealed that faking productivity is common in Belgian workplaces. Half of surveyed employees admitted to sometimes pretending to work during office hours, while two out of five confessed to occasionally mimicking tasks instead of actually performing their job responsibilities. Many respondents owned up to spending work hours browsing social media or chatting online rather than focusing on assigned tasks.

The tendency is even more pronounced among younger employees, especially those aged twenty-five and under, who report higher rates of feigning engagement. The survey highlighted that one in ten participants claimed to fake work every single day, and a quarter admitted to regularly resorting to this practice. Some employees also acknowledged scheduling unnecessarily long meetings to avoid work and forming new habits intended to sidestep critical assignments.

Most workers reported witnessing at least one colleague regularly slacking off, raising concerns among experts. Workplace specialists warn that such habits can erode productivity and reduce overall motivation within companies. The findings suggest employers may need to reconsider work structures and engagement strategies to tackle this growing issue of disengagement on the job.