I have to wonder if it's that way on purpose, put in by some Microsoft employee who wanted to slack off at work. Because there was one update where that stopped working, and I figured they found out the exploit and patched it, but then it came back on the next patch

This is the only humane option. I guess I'm privileged at Langley to only need to worry about results.

I have projects that require that I log hours to justify why they're getting charged what they are, adrenochrome bill, etc. So if I show up late, take a long lunch, or do laundry in the middle of the day it's kosher because what do they care? The project has a deadline and we're going to meet it at a certain budget. The trade off is a responsibility for when time gates happen, especially if I missed something I could have seen, especially if I missed it by doing laundry or talking to another client.

Looking busy was the first thing I ever hated in an office. I hated it as much as wishing the clock would hurry up. Squeezing labor out doesn't even seem like the most efficient use of people. If you guaranteed them the 40hr salary, had clear expectations for the minimum and gave some agency to think about how to make it awesome, you probably get more focused work on every project. They'd get bored and organize, put on music while separating trash and recyclables, suggest a compost bin, and make macros to solve busy work. They'd chill on easy weeks and have the energy and motivation to lock in on hard weeks.