Raise your hand if your office has employees resembling lead actors—so-called "performative workers." These individuals often appear busy all the time, displaying a hardworking attitude and taking the lead in every conversation. Yet, when it comes time to deliver results, their work is hollow or practically non-existent.
This behavior of looking busy but producing little is not only a deceptive image used to fool management but also causes extreme exhaustion for teammates who must constantly clean up and handle the consequences afterward.
Thairath Online has compiled the behaviors of "performative workers," deceptive employees who often leave their colleagues drained and frustrated.
The first clearly noticeable behavior is their rapid responses on organizational communication platforms—whether quickly typing “Noted” first in group chats or sending emails with CCs to executives and the entire department to blow minor issues out of proportion.
These individuals tend to present themselves as enthusiastic and eager to participate in every project, but when it comes to actual work, they become silent or delayed, citing heavy workloads or subtly passing their tasks on to others.
Performative workers often excel at using fancy words or jargon in meetings to appear intelligent and visionary. They frequently propose grand ideas lacking practical plans and are unable to execute them themselves.
They also love taking charge of organizing work or calling meetings, sometimes to discuss topics already covered, turning tasks that should take five minutes into half-day national-level debates, wasting team time and energy.
This behavior is the most disheartening and morale-damaging for genuine workers. When projects face challenges or require intense effort, these individuals claim to be occupied with more important tasks. Yet, as soon as the project nears success or completion, they jump in, presenting themselves as key contributors to the achievement.
These behaviors harm not just individuals but act like a cancer eroding team morale and slowly destroying organizational culture. When real workers see their efforts and merits stolen by image-makers, motivation declines, leading to burnout and ultimately causing the organization to lose talented staff—leaving only performers who create superficial results.
To handle performative workers, supervisors and organizations must redefine success metrics. They should stop valuing busyness or constant visible activity and instead focus on measurable impact and tangible deliverables to restore fairness to those who truly work hard. In the workplace, concrete results always speak louder and hold more value than mere performance.
Allowing these individuals to reap benefits without effort becomes a cancer that destroys organizational culture and drains talented employees. If you must work with performative workers, here are ways to cope and avoid becoming the sole burden bearer.
1. Document everything in writing.
Whenever work agreements or task assignments occur, avoid verbal discussions alone. Always summarize and send via email or work chat groups, clearly specifying who is responsible for what and deadlines. Such evidence helps prevent evasion or denial of responsibility later.
2. Clearly define boundaries of responsibility.
In teamwork or large projects, break down work into parts and clearly assign a primary responsible person for each from the start. If delays or mistakes occur, it will be immediately clear who is directly accountable and cannot shift blame to the team as a whole.
3. Be firm and stop being the sole support.
Often, performative workers survive because kind colleagues cannot stand seeing failed work and fix problems for them. If their tasks are incomplete or substandard, be bold in addressing the issue directly or let them face the consequences themselves so they learn to take responsibility.
4. For managers: evaluate "deliverables," not "busyness."
Managers and organizations play the key role in solving this issue. They must change success metrics, stop valuing hours spent at the computer, quick message replies, or constant visible busyness, and instead assess based on tangible indicators, focusing on the real impact and completed work.
In the professional world, effort and image may impress briefly, but only tangible results truly resonate and hold value. Being aware and adopting the right coping strategies will restore fairness to genuine workers within the organization.