A word that describes goofing off at work that can be used as an adjective in front of the word activity? [closed]
For example:
The unreliable employee often engaged in __ activities like smoke breaks, smalltalk with his fellows, and playing Solitaire during work hours.
On Friday afternoons, the employees would often goof off and perform __ activities.
Fred's mind often wandered while performing menial tasks and he thought about __ activities he would rather be doing.
Best candidates so far:
counter-productive/non-productive/unproductive
unprofessional (?)
Bonus: Come up with a word that eliminates the need for the word activity altogether:
The project will not get finished any sooner if you keep wasting time on __.
Solution 1:
Use counter-productive with activity. It's professional and fits all of your examples.
For a noun: Shenanigans. "We might go home early if there aren't any more shenanigans around the water cooler this afternoon.
Shenanigans: high-spirited or mischievous activity —usually used in plural
Solution 2:
I would refer to activities at work that aren't work-related as slacking
slack: To evade work; shirk.
Solution 3:
How about some of these options:
Often engaged in diddle-daddle like smoke breaks...
Often engaged in procrastination like smoke breaks...
Often engaged in fritter like smoke breaks...
Often engaged in trifles like smoke breaks...
Often engaged in vacuities like smoke breaks...
Often engaged in trifles like smoke breaks...
Often engaged in fluff like smoke breaks...