Work to rule is a labor practice where employees only perform tasks explicitly associated with their job position, avoiding ancillary activities. This is used to show dissatisfaction with employers, but some contracts allow for a broader interpretation of duties, leading to potential termination.
Work to rule is a labor practice that is sometimes employed as a means of recording workers’ dissatisfaction with employers. Essentially, in a job-compliant situation, employees stay on the job and carefully perform any tasks that are explicitly associated with the job position. However, the employee ceases to perform any ancillary activities that may be related to the core functions associated with the job.
In many cases, employees tend to perform activities that are not directly related to the job description of the position held. For example, the job description for an Accounts Payable clerk might not explicitly include the tasks associated with helping to generate invoices for customers. In a stewardship job, the AP clerk performed debit functions considered directly associated with the position, but did not touch anything related to credits. Therefore, the employee is performing the minimum required by the contract and is theoretically less likely that he will be disciplined for default or failure to meet the minimum required to maintain the position.
Grooming is sometimes used when employees are dissatisfied with the working conditions, but do not wish to organize a strike or force closure of the business. The idea behind the job to groom is that you can make the point by stopping performing what amounts to extra tasks over and above the basic job description. Ancillary tasks that remain undone can clarify to the employer how much above and beyond the basic terms of the employment contract are handled by employees on a daily basis, and thus encourage employers to listen to employee requests and work to reach a resolution that is mutually agreeable to both parties.
However, it should be noted that not all employers react favorably to the work to steer strategy. Today, many employee contracts contain clauses that allow for a broader interpretation of the duties related to a given position, often allowing the employer to add activities that are not specifically addressed in the original contract. In this case, the employer may determine that the job to be governed actually constitutes a breach of the employment contract and may fire the employee based on non-compliance.
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