How to spot an office freeloader — and what to do next

With remote and hybrid work ascending, the spotlight is starting to shine on the office freeloader — and how to hold them accountable.

There’s not a lot of data on employees who shirk their responsibilities. But one study points to one aspect of it, and it’s all about leveraging remote work.

A 2025 National Bureau of Economic Research study found that remote career professionals save about 72 minutes a day by bypassing a commute, but only reinvest 40% of that time back into the company. That’s not exactly taking hours away from a day on the job, but workplace experts say it’s the tip of the proverbial iceberg on the larger issue of so-called "office freeloading."

Here’s a closer look at the issue of workplace shirking: what it means, how pervasive the problem is, and what team members and management can do to solve it.

The office freeloader defined

While the term "freeloader" may be a loaded one, there’s no doubt such workers exist.

“From an employment-law and workplace-culture standpoint, an 'office freeloader' is someone who consistently avoids meaningful work while benefiting from the efforts of others, often positioning themselves to receive undue credit,” said Edward Hones, owner of Hones Law, a Seattle-based employment services law firm.

Some behavioral experts view an office freeloader less as a cartoon villain and more as someone who has shifted into survival mode at work.

“They’re doing just enough to stay out of trouble while avoiding real ownership of outcomes, which is often evidenced in a kind of strategic vagueness that makes it hard to pin down what they are actually contributing,” said Jon Rosenberg, professor and positive psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

On the surface, it might look like laziness, but much more lies underneath, Rosenberg noted. “There’s often a belief that their effort will not matter or will not be fairly recognized, and once people stop believing their choices have impact, they start conserving energy instead of offering it,” he said.

Fair or unfair to the worker, that scenario becomes a real problem not only because some work simply doesn’t get done, but because everyone around them has to overfunction to compensate. 

“That breeds resentment and erodes trust,” Rosenberg said. “So yes, freeloading is a performance problem, but it is also a signal that something in the system is undermining agency, and if leaders can address those conditions directly, most people will move back toward a more engaged way of working.”

Recognizing the habits of an office freeloader

A new study from Resume Now examines the red flags associated with what researchers call "ghostworking." In the report, 58% of carer professionals admit to “regularly pretending to be working,” while another 34% say they do so occasionally.

It’s the regular offenders that worry management and co-workers, but the study shows some warning signs that single out office freeloading, if you look hard enough.

According to the study:

• 23% of employees admit to walking around the office with a notebook to look busy
• 22% have typed randomly to appear engaged
• 15% have held a phone to their ear with no real call
• 15% have kept a spreadsheet open while browsing unrelated content
• 12% have scheduled fake meetings to avoid real work

Hones noted that hybrid and remote environments can make this behavior even more complicated to detect because visibility is reduced and outputs are sometimes blended within collaborative tools.

“These employees often shirk tasks by appearing 'busy' on digital platforms, delaying deliverables, or quietly relying on teammates to fill in gaps,” Hones said. “The biggest red flags I’ve seen include chronic missed deadlines, vague explanations about progress, over-claiming their role in team achievements, and colleagues quietly taking on extra work to prevent a project from slipping.”

Here’s what management can do to address the issue of freeloading workers

Once a manager recognizes a team member is ghostworking or shirking tasks, they shouldn't let the issue fester. Instead, experts say they should approach it head-on with a balance of empathy, problem-solving, and directness.

These action steps should lead the way.

Be upfront.

Office freeloaders are often driven by anxiety or imposter syndrome, and it’s worth giving them the benefit of the doubt initially.

“Managers and HR should be transparent and talk to the employee to discover if they feel they have a gap in their knowledge or skills, or if there are any other issues, meaning they aren't putting in the actual work,” said Tracey Beveridge, HR director at U.K.-Personal Checks, an employment compliance services firm.

Beveridge notes that additional personal development and training plans could be put in place to improve the business's output.

“However, if they don't believe they are misbehaving, or the behavior carries on, it’s time to address how their personality and freeloading traits are impacting their colleagues, and potentially further investigations need to take place, which will precede formal disciplinary action,” she added.

Isolate the work.

One direct way to hold a drifting team member accountable is to assign tasks solely and directly.

“As we all know from high school and college group projects, freeloaders love team projects because they let them hide behind others,” said Allison Vaillancourt, vice president of organizational effectiveness at the business consulting firm Segal. “When freeloading is suspected, assign sole responsibility for work to make work deliverables obvious.”

Take the direct route.

Leaders should assign responsibilities with specificity, track deliverables, and implement systems that make contributions visible.

“Project management tools, shared documentation, and regular check-ins make it harder for freeloaders to hide,” Hone said. “If the root issue is disengagement rather than intentional exploitation, coaching, performance improvement plans, and realigned duties can rehabilitate the employee.”

This tactic only works when managers are willing to provide candid feedback and enforce consequences if the behavior continues. 

“In many cases, freeloading thrives because expectations are vague and accountability is inconsistent,” Hone added. “When leaders create a culture where outcomes are measured, credit is tied to documented work, and communication is direct, freeloaders either improve or naturally phase out.”

If you’re a co-worker and not a manager

When you're a team member and are directly affected by the freeloader's lack of contribution to a project or task, tactfully bring it up to them.

“Maintain a professional, solution-oriented tone, and avoid accusations or direct criticisms,” said Nathan Soto, a career expert at Resume Genius. “Oftentimes, there may be extenuating circumstances in our coworkers' lives that we cannot see, and other times it may be an honest mistake.”

If the behavior persists, raise the issue with a manager and provide clear examples of when the freeloader has taken credit for work they didn't contribute. “Your goal is not to tell on them or get them in trouble, but to let your manager know how this issue affects you and the team as a whole,” Soto noted.

Soto said managers have to use their own discretion when dealing with freeloader behavior. “Long-term performance tracking, re-stating transparent work expectations, and open lines of communication are necessary for any solution to be effective,” he said. “It may be necessary to give the employee clearer responsibilities and deadlines, or to change the way tasks are allocated and completed.”

Can the office freeloader be rehabilitated?

Workplace experts often see cases in which a freeloader was shirking work because they just didn’t know how to do the task, and that can make resolving the issue easier on both parties.

“If that’s the case, assigning different responsibilities can achieve a turnaround,” Vaillancourt said. “However, when someone just doesn’t want to do the work, it can be hard to inspire them to change.”

During her career, Vaillancourt said she’s run into a few people who have always gotten by on their charm and are simply used to not having to work that hard.

“It can be disorienting to them when they are suddenly held accountable for results,” she noted. “I believe in trying to understand what is motivating the freeloading behavior, but I don’t believe in giving multiple chances to change it. All of the hard workers are watching, and if they see that skating by is accepted, they will have little motivation to do more than the minimum required to get by.”