What is a JOBSWORTH?

Question

I think I have a fair idea but can't find it in the dictionary (may be slang)

Answer 1

someone who's likely to say 'it's more than my job's worth' when u ask them to help u.



people who value their job & regulations more than the welbeing of others.

Answer 2

Jobsworth Meaning

Answer 3

The real origin of 'Jobsworth' pre-dates the BBC stuff by years. It's from the song "Jobsworth" written by Jeremy Taylor. A couple of lines from it follow: Jobsworth,jobsworth,it's more than my job's worth, And if you want fresh air,you'll find some over there, But that'll cost you another 50p. Jeremy stayed at our house for a night during a concert tour of folk clubs and is a very skilled and humorous guitarist and singer/songwriter. His show in the West End ran for ten years. He had returned to UK after living for many years in South Africa,from where he was expelled because his songs(and one in particular,called 'Republic Day') were deemed offensive by Dr Voerte's apartheid government. "Oh! Damn this darkness, I cannot see, It is not the wife but the native girl...Calamity!" He gave me a signed copy of his first album which is one of my most treasured possesions. The term 'Jobsworth' is now used to denote anyone who conforms to Jeremy's description of an 'important person around here' who with his or her 'uniform and cap' (whether they have one or not!) maintains an attitude of power and unhelpfulness to others as a means of maintaining an illusion of self-importance. Jeremy's example was a park attendant ,but we all know plenty of others.

Answer 4

Jobsworth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

A jobsworth is a person who uses his or her job description in a deliberately obstructive way, "a minor factotum whose only status comes from enforcing otherwise petty regulations".[1] The term comes from the phrase "I can't do that, it's more than my job's worth."



The term became widely known in the UK in the 1970s when it was used as a strand in the high-rating consumer affairs BBC TV programme That's Life! with Esther Rantzen. A "Jobsworth of the Week" commissionaire's hat was awarded each week to "a startling tale of going by the book".[2]



The term remains current, particularly in the UK, to characterise officious and inflexible employees, petty rule following and excessive administration.[3]



George Melly, journalist and jazz musician, gave a working definition of the term during a short talk piece on BBC2 TV in the mid-1970s.[citation needed] A song of the same name was written and performed by Jeremy Taylor.



The term is often used to describe Gareth Keenan, a character on The Office (UK), and Dwight Schrute from The Office (US).[citation needed]

Answer 5

Cost: how much is it costing the NHS in treating people who have fallen re broken bones etc as opposed to the councils gritting roads and pavements etc. I assume somewhere some bureaucrat has done the figures and it is cheaper not to grit the roads or pavements sod the people that get injured thats neither here nor there. Health and safety is only brought to bear where there is not COST involved. Get those lounging layabouts in detention centres out clearing the streets and laying the grit. It would cost very little then.

Answer 6

Somebody that will stick to the rules no matter what. For example you park on a double yellow for 1 minute, traffic warden is writing you a ticket, and you say "Come on mate, I was only here for a minute' and he says 'Sorry no can do, it's more than my jobs worth'!



Hope that helps, oh and it's not just traffic wardens!

Answer 7

a jobsworth is one of the most irritating people you can have working with you take their job very seriously for little money

Answer 8

a petty bureaucrat-



a minor official who insists on following regulations to the letter, especially with the intention of being deliberately obstructive

Answer 9

Somebody with too much power for the job that they're doing, like a traffic warden.

Answer 10

May be somebody who thinks its job it's worth doing...Good question!