All Show, No Go: Why Indian Teams Appear Busy but Lag Behind

Key Highlights on Indian Workplace Dynamics in 2025

 

A striking phenomenon in Indian workplaces is “pretend performance,” where employees appear visibly busy but produce minimal measurable output.

 

Surveys highlight that 32% of Indian professionals spend significant time on performative tasks that showcase activity rather than tangible results.

 

The culture of multitasking, excessive meetings, and constant messaging fragments attention and priority focus, impeding real productivity.

 

Hierarchical work structures and social pressures promote a compliance-driven, presence-oriented mindset, valuing visible effort over value delivered.

 

Burnout, stress, and disengagement are rampant, with workforce engagement in India at a low 19% as of early 2025.

 

Technology and AI tools are underutilized in streamlining workflows, further contributing to inefficiencies and duplication of efforts across teams.

 

Long working hours prevalent in India lead to diminishing productivity returns, with many employees stuck in a “time spent equals productivity” fallacy.

 

Cultural nuances such as indirect communication, relationship emphasis, and preference for harmony sometimes curtail candid feedback and necessary course corrections.

 

Understanding Pretend Performance: The Appearance-Output Gap

 

Pretend performance describes the tendency for teams to create an illusion of productivity through visible busyness—endless emails, back-to-back calls, constant status updates, and task-switching—without achieving key business goals. In India, this trend is amplified by workplace expectations that emphasize “face time” and maintaining a reputation for hard work, even when effectiveness is limited.

 

Contributing factors include the overload of multitasking—76% of Indian knowledge workers report being pulled in too many directions with multiple concurrent goals and tasks. Frequent meetings and near-constant messaging are cited by over 80% as distractions that interrupt deep work and priority execution.

 

Cultural and Structural Drivers

 

India’s traditionally hierarchical workplace structures encourage deference to authority and consensus-seeking, which can slow decision-making and foster protracted discussions that look busy but stall outcomes. Social dynamics further pressure workers to appear engaged through visible actions, sometimes prioritizing activity over impact:

 

Indirect communication styles can obscure real challenges, leading to misalignment and delayed problem-solving.

 

Relationship-driven work culture focuses on building harmony over confronting inefficiencies.

 

Favoritism and social connections influence task assignments and recognition more than meritocratic delivery.

 

The Role of Work Hours and Burnout

 

Contrary to common beliefs, longer hours do not equate to higher productivity. India’s workforce often faces exceedingly long working days, with some advocating 90-hour workweeks. However, data shows a 58% burnout rate among Indian employees, contributing to declining morale and effectiveness. The emphasis on presence and effort exhausts employees, diminishing cognitive resources for creative, value-generating work.

 

Technology Paradox

 

Though India is a fast-growing digital economy, many organizations lag in adopting AI and automation tools effectively to reduce menial tasks. This underuse results in repeated work and inefficient knowledge sharing—63% have discovered duplicate efforts between teams post-projects.

 

Key Steps Towards Real Productivity

 

Focus prioritization: Workers and teams need clarity on fewer, sharper goals (82% agree this aids progress).

 

Reducing unnecessary meetings and communications to protect focus and deep work time.

 

Encouraging transparent, direct feedback cultures to uncover hidden bottlenecks.

 

Embracing AI and productivity tools for better workflow tracking and task management.

 

Balancing work hours with well-being to sustain motivation and cognitive energy.

 

In conclusion, the rise of pretend performance in Indian teams reflects deep-rooted cultural, structural, and technological challenges. Overcoming these requires shifting mindsets from valuing busyness and presence towards fostering output-driven, focused work environments. Strategic interventions focused on clarity, communication, and smart use of technology will be crucial to transforming India’s workplaces into truly productive ecosystems.

 

Sources: Atlassian State of Teams Report 2025, Wisemonk on Indian Work Culture, People Matters