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+---
+aliases:
+  - hamsterwheel work
+author: Jason Thistlethwaite
+---
+
+Toil is a form of hamsterwheel work which is repetitive, manual, could be automated, and produces no enduring value. The original reference comes from [[SRE|site reliability engineering]], a practice developed at Google.
+
+## Examples of toil
+
+- A water cooler leaks, so somebody has to avoid the puddle or clean it up every day.
+- Double checking every single piece of work that is completed instead of more effective ways to prevent mistakes.
+- Throwing trash on the floor instead of into a trash can.
+