work to rule

1. 1.

   a job action in which workers cause a slowdown by doing only the minimum amount required by the rules of the workplace

   Broaderjob action

Questions about work to rule

What does work to rule mean?

work to rule means "a job action in which workers cause a slowdown by doing only the minimum amount required by the rules of the workplace".

Is work to rule a common word?

work to rule is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.