It seems like they try to shrewdly Slow-Roll everything so they can seem Busy and Overwhelmed. A Nerd in the same situation would just Engineer something that no one asked for.
The ones I work with call out sick constantly, disappear into the bathroom for twenty minutes or more, complain about being tired, stare at their phones all day, take long breaks, need to take an "important phone call" when they're supposed to be doing something else, and use their kids as excuses for why they can't show up on time, complete a shift, or follow a regular schedule. This stupid birdbrain nonsense probably costs companies billions of dollars a year.