noun
a job action in which workers cause a slowdown by doing only the minimum amount required by the rules of the workplace
• Hypernyms: ↑job action
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work to rule
(of workers) to observe all the regulations scrupulously for the express purpose of slowing down work, as a form of industrial action (workˈ-to-ruleˈ noun)
• • •
Main Entry: ↑work
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work to rule british phrase
to do only what the rules at work say you must do and nothing more, as a form of protest
Thesaurus: strikes and other union activityhyponym
Main entry: rule
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work to rule,
British.
1. a form of slowdown used by labor to force concessions from management in which work is slowed down by the deliberate, punctilious observance of every working rule and regulation.
2. to slow down work by the punctilious observance of working rules.
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work to ˈrule idiom
to follow the rules of your job in a very strict way in order to cause delay, as a form of protest against your employer or your working conditions
see also ↑work-to-rule
Useful english dictionary. 2012.