Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs covers this at length. There is a lot of employment that just needs a butt in the seat when or even just in case they are needed. It’s really a bit tragic how many man/woman-hours are wasted due to lack of creativity.

I call bullshit on that book. I've never worked anywhere that kept people on just for the sake of it. Sure there might have been people who probably should have been fired, but the job they performed wasn't fake.

... and I can name three F250 companies that you have never worked for. :)

I suspect people who truly have very little to do in a company go fairly unnoticed and have bosses that don't even know how much work they have on their plate.

The reality is an awful lot of people don't give a damn about their work and are just showing up for a paycheck. Those people will do less if they can get away with it.

So his thoroughly-researched book, that he spent years working on, and based on thousands of individuals submitting their experiences, is completely bogus because.... you haven't had the experience that millions of others absolutely have?

Sure pal. All jobs are totally important and not at all pointless, wasteful make-work.

Japan leads the world in this phenomenon, but no doubt much of IT/STEM is similar.

lot of performative but in practice half of the job is looking busy.