August 19, 2025
Clock Botching Shuffles in Behind the Quiet Quitting Trend
A new workplace trend on the rise to join the ranks of quiet critics and quitters. This one is called clock botching: the trend of employees who look busy, but aren’t actually producing meaningful results. More experienced workers might know it as clock watching, lollygagging or plain procrastination.
Unlike presenteeism, where unwell employees still show up, clock botching manifests in workers stretching small tasks into entire afternoons. Take an extended break here, “read” an extensive report there, and keeping that calendar full while disengaging emotionally from work.
The Rise of Clock Botching
Explaining why clock botching is on the rise, Ryan Zhang, a workplace productivity expert and CEO of AI-powered productivity software Notta.ai, notes: “Clock botching occurs when employees are physically there but emotionally gone—burnt out, disillusioned, or disconnected. Rather than laziness, it’s a quiet withdrawal driven by low morale and workplaces that reward presence over real results. Clock botching is a survival response to overloaded and inefficient workplaces.”
“Clock botching is often a symptom of cognitive overload. When employees sit through meeting after meeting without clear next steps or spend hours on information that leads nowhere, their brains start shutting down to protect them from wasted effort. Over time, even strong performers disengage, showing up in body but not in mind, because they know their contributions won’t stick. The real solution isn’t tighter monitoring — it’s removing the friction that causes disengagement in the first place.” Zang adds, warning that clock botching also creates a ripple effect that can damage entire teams: “When one employee disengages, colleagues often must pick up the slack, potentially leading to increased burnout, missed deadlines, and decreased work quality across departments,” he says.
The Trouble With Clock Botchers
Alari Aho, HR expert and CEO of recruitment software Toggl Hire, says these red flags can help HR leaders identify whether an employee is clock botching:
- Employees are always online but delivering little real output. They’re quick to reply to messages and appear active, but their actual deliverables fall short or arrive late.
- A drop in initiative or professional growth. Employees stop volunteering for new projects or pursuing development opportunities, signalling disengagement.
- Declining contributions in meetings. Once vocal team members become passive observers, nodding along without adding meaningful input.
- Rising team tension when others pick up the slack. Colleagues notice they’re carrying more weight, which breeds resentment and undermines morale.
He points out that it is critical for companies to recognise the early signs of clock botching: “If managers dismiss these red flags as minor dips in performance, they risk allowing disengagement to spread quietly across teams. Addressing clock botching early isn’t just about protecting productivity — it’s about protecting culture, morale, and ultimately retention.”
What Can Companies Do?
- Focus on Output, Not Input: Employees naturally engage more when they can see their work creating real impact. Clock botching thrives in environments where people feel their efforts disappear into a void.
- Eliminate Information Overload: Provide tools and processes that help employees quickly extract key insights from conversations and meetings When people can easily capture and organise important information, they stay mentally present instead of checking out.
- Create Accountability Through Clarity: When everyone can see what was decided, who’s responsible, and what the deadlines are, clock botching becomes much harder to sustain. Transparency naturally increases engagement.
For HR professionals providing support for employees who are clock botching, Aho suggests following these tips:
- Start with conversations, not punishments: Clock botching signals deeper disengagement. Create safe spaces for employees to admit they’re struggling.
- Reconnect employees to purpose: Show how their role contributes to the bigger picture. A sense of meaning reduces the urge to disengage.
- Re-energise career growth: Regular career check-ins, mentorship, and skill-building opportunities remind employees they have a future with the company.
- Protect focus time: Set cultural norms for “do not disturb” windows and reward impact over visibility.
Work trends will continue to evolve as roles gain more autonomy. As long as HR and managers can detect the difference between five minutes of recharge time, and persistent clock botching, or whatever you want to call it, we should all get on fine.
