Hey team,
Do you ever feel like your best efforts to communicate at work don’t achieve the results you desire?
When I started my first job, I quickly realised that my words were not sufficient. Why is that? Because we lie with our words. In fact, we lie with our words A LOT. Although not impossible, it is significantly harder to lie with our actions, hence the saying…
“Actions speak louder than words.”
Signalling theory explains how we use our behaviour and actions to communicate information about ourselves to others. This can work in your favour, or it can ruin your reputation and stunt your career growth.
Today, I want to talk about some strategies to signal that you are a hardworking, trustworthy professional—and how you can use these signals to manage your workload and keep interruptions at bay.
Understanding Signaling Theory in the Workplace
Let’s address the elephant in the room. The way that signalling theory works is not inherently fair. What would be fair is if everyone was seen for who they truly are and received reward/punishment based on the value of their work.
Unfortunately, this is often not the case. The employee who is in the office for the longest hours receives favour over the employee who s[ends fewer hours in the office but is more productive. This type of environment breeds mediocrity and I do not feel that any of us should succumb to the temptation to be unproductive without any attempts to improve.
A Brief Disclaimer
These signals can help you to communicate information about yourself in the short to medium term, but in the long term, your work ethic and capabilities will start to speak for itself. Work ethic and skills contribute towards your overall reputation - which is something I’ll talk about in a future instalment.
That being said, let’s look at some signals I use to convey that I am an organised, hard-working, confident employee.
The Bear
Have you watched The Bear? If you haven’t and don’t want to see spoilers, skip to the next heading “Fit for Success”.
In The Bear. there is an apathetic, brash, sarcastic character named Richie who spends most of the first 2 seasons of the show arguing with the people around him. The Bear is centred around a restaurant and the struggles faced by the staff of the restaurant as they attempt to increase the restaurant’s profitability.
Richie does a complete 180 when he discovers his passion for serving customers and creating a sense of magic and wonder for those he serves in the restaurant.
This sudden change of character was accompanied by a sudden change of wardrobe. Once Richie discovered his purpose, he opted to dress in a full suit and tie - a massive upgrade from his dirty t-shirt and jeans. In his own words…
“I’m wearin’ a suit ’cause it makes me feel better about myself.” - Richie Jerimovich (The Bear)
Fit for Success
This is a common phenomenon, where dressing formally increases one’s self-confidence and sense of purpose. Getting fitted-up for your job can have a number of positive psychological benefits for yourself but it also creates a powerful signalling effect on those around you. It gives the impression that you take your job seriously and mean business when you’re in the office. There’s a certain “don’t mess with me” mentality that comes with wearing
You don’t have to dress in a 3-piece suit to create this signal. I’d simply recommend dressing on the more formal, professional-looking side of the spectrum. Every office’s dress code is different but try to observe your colleague’s fashion choices - and remember to be practical. Sometimes comfort is more important. For my office dress code, I try to live in the “sweet spot” - somewhere in the upper third of the spectrum.
This is the area where you’re able to signal that you take your work seriously but it also won’t make you look like a try-hard.
Exceptions
I can think of one crazy exception when having a good fit and looking pretty can create a negative signal.
If you and your team are going through a busy period when no one has time for personal care, it might confuse and upset people if you’re still dressing impeccably while everyone else is wearing sweats and hoodies. Be adaptable and don’t be afraid to dress down from time to time.
Looking slightly less professional and a bit rough around the edges is a badge of honour during busy periods.
It gives “Yes I normally look professional - but wow I’ve been working so hard that I didn’t have the time to shave this morning”.
Arriving Early, Leaving Late
Let’s talk about productivity.
There’s a lot of buzz around productivity and everyone has a framework for being more productive. At a high-level, productivity is basically a measure of how effectively you get sh*t done.
At work, productivity is not measured easily. Quite often the work that needs to be done doesn’t have a benchmark for how long or how much effort is required.
And even if there is a benchmark, there are often new variables which make it difficult to use said benchmark. Perhaps there’s a new piece of legislation to consider this year, or there’s a new variable to be factored into the budget.
If you want to be more productive, it’s clear that either your output needs to increase, or your inputs need to decrease. Counterintuitively, big corporates don’t encourage increased productivity. They often encourage EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.
When an employee is identified as being particularly “productive”, they are not immediately rewarded with a bonus, or a promotion, or even a pat on the back.
No no no, the reward for completing your work efficiently is to receive more work.
What kind of culture does this breed? As young, low-level employees, that is a question we don’t have permission to ask.
So… the goal at work is to decrease one’s productivity. Let’s look at that formula again.
The output is not within our control. If you are assigned a job, you have to get the job done.
The only control we have is over our inputs. We must either increase time or effort, or decrease skill.
It doesn’t make sense to decrease one’s skill. This will move you backwards in your career in the long-term and we definitely don’t want that.
It’s difficult to signal that you are increasing your effort, the biggest indicator is you saying “I’m working really hard right now”. In which case you’re practically begging people to trust that you are working hard.
The only variable left to play with is time.
Time is easily manipulated. You go into the office early, leave late, skip lunch, and never leave your desk and just like that you’ll signal that you’re a “hard worker”. This does 2 things.
Demonstrates your willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done
Signals that you are too busy to be assigned more work.
In the long term, you will have to increase your output to match your increased inputs. Or you’ll have to find a way to spend less time working. If you don’t, it may signal that you need to be put on a performance review.
Using Signals to Manage Your Workload
Let’s talk about visible indicators of busyness.
I’ve found that there are certain ways to signal that you mean business and don’t want to be disturbed/handed more work.
1. Calendar Blocking
Unfortunately, we all live by our calendars. If you’re looking for a way to stop your colleagues and managers from scheduling incessant meetings with you, block-off time in your calendar for doing “real work”. Just make sure that the privacy of your events is not visible to anyone except you. You don’t want your co-workers to be scheduling a meeting during an hour which you blocked off to read email. Trust me, I’ve seen co-workers make prioritisation decisions on MY BEHALF when they know too much about my time.
Having a busy calendar also indicates that you are working and don’t have the capacity to take on the random bullsh*t that your manager is trying to throw at you.
2. Body Language
This indicator of busyness is very much a practiced art, and it should be used wisely.
Maintaining an upright, focused posture with a hint of stress in your eyes will send the signal that you’re working hard.
Whereas if you’re leaned back, smiling and constantly on your phone, it will send the signal that you’re hardly working.
I’ve tried and I can confirm that it is quite easy to fool people using body language. I often get asked if I’m stressed and need help with anything, even when I’m not working very hard.
Use these signals wisely because you may not always want to appear as though you’re frantically busy working, especially if you want to convey a sense of control and confidence. Never underestimate the power of body language.
3. Desk Organisation (or lack thereof)
For 95% of the time, you should maintain a neat, well-organised desk. It helps you to think clearly, keep your work organised and signals to your co-workers that you are a high-functioning corporate robot. Perfect.
Organise your papers, keep your stationery in order, tidy-up those cables, throw away the empty chocolate wrappers etc.
BUT for the other 5% of the time, I’ve found that having a messy desk can signal that you’re ALOT busier than usual and should not be bothered.
If your colleagues know that your defualt is to be neat and organised, periodic messiness sends a clear message:
“I’m dying right now, please don’t ask me for favours”
Final Thoughts
Mastering the art of signaling in the workplace can boost your professional image and help you manage your workload better. By being mindful of the signals you send, you can build a reputation as a hard worker and reliable colleague while setting boundaries to stay productive and avoid burnout. Use these signals with careful intention to avoid incongruencies.
If you have any experience with these techniques, send us an email. Are they helping you reach your goals? Share your thoughts and experiences with us—we'd love to hear from you!
This Song Slaps
Music which should be in your corporate playlist
Additional Resources
Recommended book:
The Art of Strategy by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff
Quick Little Video:
Carla Harris - Managing Perceptions