make-work ˈmake-work noun [uncountable]
work that is not important but is given to people to keep them busy:
• They want to move from their make-work jobs into more challenging ones.
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make-work UK US noun [U] US
► jobs that are given to people, especially by a government, to stop them from being unemployed: »
Senior State Department officials took the decision to divert $286 million to short-term ""make-work"" projects.
Financial and business terms. 2012.