work to rule meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

work to rule

verbalso spelled work-to-rule

Idiomatic To work slowly by strictly following all work rules, usually in a work-to-rule job action, as part of unionized labor protest.

work-to-rule

noun

Etymology Deverbal from work to rule.

A labor protest in which employees do only the minimum work required by the rules of a workplace, following safety or other regulations to the letter in order to cause a slowdown.

work-to-rule

adj

Etymology Deverbal from work to rule.

Of or pertaining to such a protest.

Disgruntled by chronic staff shortages, doctors threatened a “work-to-rule” action at the East London Hospital Complex by the end of this week.2008 June 11, “EL doctors threaten ‘work to rule’ action”, in Dispatch Online, South Africa, retrieved 26 Jun 2008:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for work to rule and work-to-rule.