Among the ongoing and controversial workforce purge by the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk recently decreed that all federal employees must offer up a weekly email detailing five of their accomplishments—or risk losing their jobs. However, task reporting is an approach that likely wouldn’t serve HR professionals in the private sector, experts say.

New research from career website Zety released last week found that 62% of workers surveyed oppose Musk’s efforts to track how employees spend their time; nearly a third said that if their employer rolled out such a strategy, they would look for a new job.

What’s more, a new report from ResumeTemplates suggests many U.S. workers wouldn’t be truthful if asked to provide such data. The survey of 1,200 workers found that one in eight workers said submitting an honest report would get them in trouble, and just as many say they are working fewer than 30 hours per week, despite being hired for more. About one in 10 Gen Z employees reports working 20 hours or less.

The critical role of managers in reducing the risk for task reporting

While Musk’s DOGE is among the highest-profile agencies to ask employees to account for their work, it’s not alone. Zety found that more than one-third of employees surveyed said their organization asks them to report on their tasks every day. Yet, it’s an approach that is highly unpopular with workers: Ninety percent report negative impacts from strict task-reporting policies, including on job satisfaction, culture, burnout, productivity, turnover and more.

How can HR boost productivity without resorting to task reporting?

ResumeTemplates Chief Career Strategist Julia Toothacre says HR should start by working with managers, adding that it’s important to remind those leaders to check in with their reports frequently and conduct an audit of time or accomplishments.

“If their people are hitting their targets and expectations, let them be; if not, then it’s time for a conversation,” she says.

Particular attention should be paid to early-career hires who are still finding their place in the professional world. Toothacre notes that those employees may appreciate additional opportunities for mentoring and may communicate with their manager more as a result.

“The reality is that if you have employees who aren’t working, it’s a reflection on their relationship with their manager, which will be a tough realization for some,” she says.

To avoid the need for mandates like task reporting, HR can start mitigating potential productivity problems as soon as the onboarding process, especially for early-career hires.

“Help them acclimate to the culture and expectations, along with teaching them when and how to ask for support from a manager,” Toothacre says. “Even experienced employees who are new to the organization would benefit from these reminders in onboarding.”

Some employers are using project management software to track deliverables and timelines. If an employer hasn’t invested in this type of software, Toothacre says, it’s worth considering to be able to track work and projects. It’s a process that can take some pressure and micromanaging tendencies away from people managers.

“Overall, it’s helpful for HR leaders to know what processes, procedures and accountability are in place and whether that information is being trained [for] and followed by employees and managers,” Toothacre says.

Assessing the true value of an employee

Cheryl Swirnow, CEO at CMS Consultants, says DOGE’s task reporting strategy, alongside its scrutiny of government contracts—and the ripple effects on consulting firms like Deloitte and Accenture, for example—raise the important question: How can HR measure the value of work that isn’t easily quantified?

An experienced HR leader who works with brands including Nike, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Rent The Runway, Swirnow sees a direct parallel between Musk’s reported “interviews” of government employees and the broader push to justify roles purely through an efficiency lens.

“Any good HR leader knows that employee value isn’t always quantifiable on a spreadsheet,” Swirnow says. “The best organizations don’t just assess roles in isolation; they look at how work gets done, how teams collaborate and the long-term impact of positions that may not deliver immediate ROI.”

The approach Musk and DOGE are taking to drive productivity reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of workforce planning—one that prioritizes ideological tests over strategic assessments, which can drive up fear and diminish expertise.

“A purely transactional approach to workforce planning overlooks the fact that many roles, especially in public service, deliver value that isn’t immediately measurable,” she says. “Expertise, institutional knowledge and long-term impact often don’t fit into a simple cost-benefit analysis, yet they are critical to efficiency and innovation.”

When decisions are made solely through a financial or ideological lens, she adds, organizations risk losing the very expertise that keeps them running smoothly. Swirnow explains that public service roles, in particular, require a deep understanding of complex systems, regulatory frameworks and long-term policy implications. She notes that the success of these roles often isn’t seen in quarterly reports, but rather in the stability and effectiveness of institutions over time.

“Cutting positions or restructuring purely for the sake of efficiency can lead to unintended consequences, such as reduced institutional memory and slower decision-making,” she says.

Instead, Swirnow says, workforces thrive when they balance efficiency with strategic investment in talent. When employees constantly feel the need to justify their existence rather than being empowered to do their best work, it creates a culture of fear, short-term thinking and disengagement.

“In government and beyond, that leads to high turnover, operational inefficiencies and, ultimately, a weaker organization that struggles to meet its mission,” Swirnow says.

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