Avoidance of work

In contrast with evasion of work, which involves deliberate and even illegal actions, avoidance of work occurs within acceptable patterns of behaviour and may be partly unconscious. It can include such forms as working to rule (as a result of labour disputes), reducing the working rhythm, marginally extending rest periods, delaying starting and stopping early, extending conversations into non-work topics to an unreasonable degree, inventing non-essential tasks requiring unnecessary movement around the work site, and extending (rather than curtailing) absences from work to ensure appropriate recovery from illness. Since it occurs within acceptable patterns of behaviour, it cannot be easily questioned or criticized. Consequently it can increase in scope in an insidious manner, whether in the case of an individual working independently (such as a student) or within a work force in a large organization.