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by jmcqk6 2063 days ago
The problem is distinguishing "busywork" from "the work". Often times, they look very similar, especially to outside viewers.
1 comments

When I think busywork, I think work given to me to occupy my time by someone (probably a teacher or a manager) that has no actual use other than timewasting. Theres this thread of being an externally administered task to my understanding of the word which helps me distinguish the two - im curious if similar connotations exist for others
> When I think busywork, I think work given to me to occupy my time by someone (probably a teacher or a manager) that has no actual use other than timewasting.

That is one source. The time wasting can have several (non-exclusive) motivations, however:

* Punishment

* Important but not urgent work

* Creating the appearance of insufficient resources to prevent allocation of labor elsewhere

That last motivation also applies to self-assigning busywork, of course.