A servant or employee who works only when being watched by the master or employer; someone who avoids work when not being observed.
Compound of 'eye' and 'servant' (from Latin 'servire'). Biblical term (Ephesians 6:6) contrasting with faithful service, meaning service motivated by observation rather than conscience.
This word comes straight from the Bible and describes a problem that's eternal—employers have always known that some workers slack off when nobody's watching, leading to modern surveillance culture.
Eyeservice carries Pauline theological history (Ephesians 6:6) instructing servants—historically women and enslaved people—to work 'not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers.' The term embeds power hierarchies where the watched are subordinate.
Use neutrally to describe performative compliance without gendered servant-master framing when possible.
["performance for observation","compliance-for-show"]
Recognize that eyeservice language historically justified gendered surveillance and labor control; reclaim it as analysis of power rather than prescription.
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