Mouse jiggling: What’s causing it?

The phenomenon of “mouse jiggling” – that is, pretending to be productive at work by preventing one’s computer from activating “sleep mode” – gives rise to broader questions about employee engagement.

HR Leader recently spoke to HiBob’s chief people officer, Nirit Peled-Muntz, about the widespread trend of mouse jiggling that is happening across a wide range of Australian organisations.

“Mouse jigglers are employees who pretend to be productive at work by preventing their computer from going into sleep mode. It appears to have become more prevalent in work practices after offices adopted remote and hybrid work models following the pandemic,” Peled-Muntz said.

“More recently, it became a topic of discussion after big global corporations, like Wells Fargo, decided to fire several employees they referred to as ‘mouse jigglers.’”

As the real consequences for being a ‘mouse jiggler’ can be the termination of your contract, it’s evident that employees don’t want to willingly engage in behaviour that can cost them their jobs. So why is it happening?

“The important thing to remember is that employees who are motivated and engaged will naturally find their time at work meaningful and not feel the need to resort to mouse jiggling. Equally, employees who feel trusted and entrusted will not be concerned with ‘looking offline’ if they feel they are in an environment where productivity is not measured in hours or presenteeism but output and results,” Peled-Muntz said.

“While motivation is self-driven, it is important to understand that having effective leadership and a positive workplace culture helps employees feel more inspired and empowered to contribute their best efforts – rather than be made to resort to faking productivity.”

Although employee engagement can be pinpointed as the crux of the issue, there’s a deeper issue around managers showing a lack of support towards their employees, which can lead to this damaging practice.

“While engagement may be the main issue, companies need to get to the root of the problem. Employees artificially jiggling their mouse to appear busy may be a symptom of a deeper issue within the workplace,” Peled-Muntz said.

“To prevent mouse jiggling from taking off in the workplace, it’s important for managers and leaders to go to the trouble of understanding why employees resort to mouse jiggling in the first place and improve circumstances for them – both of which are key to fostering trust with employees. Managers need to accept that the issue may lie within their own or organisation’s approach.”

Creating a culture of transparency among your team that values outcomes and results over hours logged can be the difference between having a workforce of diligent and hardworking employees and having unproductive mouse jigglers.

“One example of supporting employees is to focus on outcomes and results rather than hours logged. By setting clear goals and evaluating performance based on achievements, businesses can foster a more effective and motivated workforce,” Peled-Muntz said.

“Have regular check-ins with employees to understand their needs and hear their concerns. If they’re lacking any support or resources to perform at their best in their role, especially if they are working from home, talking to them regularly will help identify the root of the issue so you can put in place measures to fix it.”

“Ultimately, it is important for businesses to ensure productivity is truly recognised and rewarded so that employees know that their quality work is appreciated. That way, they don’t settle for the appearance of being busy. One surefire way of losing natural high performers is to put them in a position where they have to pretend to work.”