In the corporate world it's impossible for any one person to tell what's going on across multiple domains due to the complexity. If I tell you the Zorbulon API is creating 30% more flargs (which is critical for Twiddle operation), I often just have to take your word for it.

Hell, I'm in the bowels of Google as an IC and it's hard to understand what adjacent teams are doing. Even harder for management that never gets their hands on anything.

So while you know engineers are probably bullshitting you with fake work, you can at least turn around and tell your supervisor the numbers. It's all a game of plausible deniability.