People don’t like to admit that they are free. Saying “I’m busy” taps into something deeper.

Here is a curious case of Telex.

Introduced in the 1930s for business-to-business telegrams, they peaked in the 1980s before fax and email took over. Telegrams quickly became outdated, yet British Telecom and AT&T kept their Telex operations running for another 30 years— they discontinued Telex in 2008.

Looking back, it seems crazy. Why maintain an obsolete technology for three decades?

Picture the employee managing these machines. He checks for urgent telegrams hourly, even as usage dwindles.

Should he only check once a day?

Nope—doing so might suggest that telegrams are useless. He might be seen as useless and may lose his job. To avoid that, he keeps his routine, staying “busy.” His colleagues see him working hard, and the company appears to care about those few remaining telegram clients—maybe that copper mine in Australia still needs us!

The truth is, people don’t like to feel unoccupied. Saying “I’m busy” serves a need to feel important and secure.

So the next time someone says they’re busy, be kind. They might be overwhelmed—or just trying to mask their deep insecurities.