Across the US, more and more people logging in to work from home are being observed by strangers as they do so. It's no invasion of privacy: The workers are actually paying for the privilege. As the Wall Street Journal explains, the concept is called "body doubling" and the principle is fairly straightforward: People are more likely to stay focused and less likely to goof off on the job if they know others are keeping an eye on them. The principle of body doubling can be traced to the treatment of ADHD, and CNN explains that it has been used for quite a while in the field.
"The idea is that the presence of another is essentially a gentle reminder to stay on task," says Billy Roberts, clinical director of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling in Columbus, Ohio. "For folks (with) ADHD whose minds tend to wander and get off task, the body double somehow works as an external motivator to stay on task." With the explosion in the number of people working from home since the pandemic, the concept has morphed into helping such workers stay focused on their work.
As the Hustle notes, those who buy in to the concept don't necessarily have to have others watch them—forums on TikTok allow body doublers to check into non-camera streaming sessions. But those who prefer the extra accountability of cameras now have a variety of subscription services to choose from, including Flown, Focusmate, Flow Club, and Caveday. Participants might log in, publicly display a to-do list, then get working on it. Sometimes, a group leader will guide things. "It's weird but it works," reads the headline of a first-person column on the practice by L'Oreal Blackett at Refinery29. (More remote working stories.)
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