Question about a project manager's comment I heard at the airport

I was waiting for a flight to Denver last week and two people in suits were talking shop right behind me. One, a project manager type, said to the other, 'The goal is to keep them busy, not to get them thinking.' He was talking about his team. It stopped me cold. I've been in jobs like that, where every minute is packed with tasks but none of it feels like it moves the needle. It made me realize that a lot of workplace stress doesn't come from hard work, it comes from pointless motion designed to fill time. That manager was openly admitting that curiosity and deep work were a threat to his control. How many of us are stuck in roles where 'busy' is the only metric that matters? Has anyone found a way to push back against that culture without getting labeled as a problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jamie1d ago

My old boss called that "keeping the hamsters on the wheel.

the_evan1d ago

Sounds like you're reading a lot into one overheard line. Maybe the guy just meant he had a tight deadline and needed focus, not deep thought. Not every manager is out to crush souls. Sometimes busy work is just poor planning, not some evil plot. You can push back by just asking for the reason behind tasks, but you might not like the boring answer. Honestly, most jobs have some filler, it's just part of the deal.