A person, especially an employee, who frequently checks the time because they are eager to leave work or impatient.
Compound of 'clock' and 'watcher' (one who watches), originally describing someone literally watching a clock, now used metaphorically for someone uninvested in their work.
The term 'clockwatcher' perfectly captures a workplace dynamic that intensified after the Industrial Revolution—when work became hourly and mechanized, workers naturally began counting minutes until freedom, making timekeeping an act of resistance against industrial control.
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