How many of us are guilty of not really working while at work…maybe pretending to work on your computer while really checking social media…

There's a word for that: fudgel.

To fudgel means to pretend to work when you're really kind of just goofing off. And if you've ever spent twenty minutes rearranging your desktop, checking your email for the fifth time, or staring at the same spreadsheet while accomplishing absolutely nothing, well…you may have been fudgeling.

And it’s not something new with Gen Z workers. I mean, I remember pretending to take notes back in high school, when I was really writing a note to my best friend.  

The word fudgel dates back to at least the eighteenth century. It appears in Nathan Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary from 1742, where it was used for pretending to work without actually doing anything.  It’s actual origin is a little fuzzy. Many think it was a sort of slang term at the time.  Researchers haven't established a definite explanation for where the word itself came from.  Some people suggest it might have something to do with the word Fudge…not in the “chocolate” way, but like fudging your taxes or fudging your golf score…you know, just not being quite honest. It does seem to fit.  

So the next time someone looks incredibly busy but somehow manages to accomplish absolutely nothing, don't accuse them of slacking. Tell them they're fudgeling.