Featherbedding is a term used in the human resources industry to describe the creation of superfluous tasks or positions in a business with the intent of inflating wages, circumventing layoffs, or expanding the number of workers involved in productive activities.

 

Hiring an excessive number of employees for a relatively straightforward job or employees generating needless work to enable overtime opportunities. Such practices can result in resource wastage and can have a detrimental impact on business efficiency.