Being at Your Desk Isn't a Performance Metric

I think we've confused being available with being valuable.

With more companies calling employees back into the office, I've been thinking a lot about how we actually measure productivity.

Because somewhere along the way, we started equating visibility with contribution.

If you're at your desk, you're working. If you're immediately responsive, you're engaged. If your manager can physically see you, you're accountable. But are you actually getting more done?

I'm a pretty hardcore ambivert. I recharge by being alone, and my social battery gets depleted fast. But that said, I also love people, collaborating, and I genuinely enjoy getting to know my colleagues. But here's the funny thing: I can be too social.

Put me in an office full of interesting people, and suddenly I'm having a 30-minute conversation when I really should be finishing a project. Add the constant check-ins, impromptu meetings, and knocks on the door, and my concentration is shot.

Some of my most productive days happen at home, in comfortable clothes, headphones on, with my dog occasionally reminding me that it's time for a walk.

That doesn't mean I don't value being in the office; I absolutely do. There's something to be said for the relationships built over coffee, spontaneous brainstorming sessions, and the kind of camaraderie that doesn't always translate through a screen. It's why I've always been a fan of hybrid work.

But I also think we've built a lot of workplace expectations around one particular kind of employee: the highly visible, constantly available, socially engaged professional. And not everyone does their best work that way.

We have email, Slack, Teams, Zoom, shared calendars, and more project management platforms than any of us know what to do with. We can track deadlines, deliverables, milestones, and outcomes from practically anywhere. So why are we still treating physical presence as a proxy for performance?

I've known people who look incredibly busy at their desks but accomplish very little. And I've known people who barely make a sound all day and produce exceptional work. Being seen working isn't the same thing as doing good work.

I don't think the future of work should be about forcing everyone into an office or sending everyone home. I think it should be about understanding what people need to do their best work, creating accountability around actual results, and giving them the flexibility to deliver.

Because the goal shouldn't be to manage how productive someone looks.

It should be to create an environment where they can actually be productive.

Curious where everyone lands on this: Does being in the office make you more productive, or just more visible?