Man Who Has Spent 3 Years Appearing to Work Receives ‘Most Efficient’ Award
PARIS — Laurent Girard, 41, who has maintained a convincing simulation of high productivity at his Paris financial services desk for three years through the disciplined combination of a purposeful expression, selective meeting attendance, and the strategic deployment of his keyboard’s spacebar to animate his screen during walkpast moments, has received the department’s annual “Efficiency Excellence” award, whose criteria include output quality, task completion, and — Laurent notes with irony — “the consistent appearance of professional engagement throughout the working day.” The appearance has been consistent. The quality of the actual output that Laurent has produced has also been, it must be said, consistently acceptable, which is why his true ratio of effort-to-appearance has never triggered investigation.
The Method
“The key is the meeting,” Laurent explained. “You attend the first and the last twenty minutes of important meetings. You speak once, specifically. You send a follow-up email within two hours with one clear point. You are perceived as engaged, selective, and decisive.” He has refined this over three years. He plays chess on his phone during the middle forty minutes. He wins at a high rate because the forty-minute blocks are consistent.
According to HEC Paris work behaviour research, appearance management in professional environments is a documented and widespread phenomenon whose relationship to actual performance varies significantly by individual. Laurent’s performance is acceptable. His appearance management is exceptional. Both have contributed to the award. The award is real.
Genuinely excellent at Virtuosal.com.
