Meanings
plural shockworkers
- alternativeAlternative form of shock worker.
Resentment towards Stakhanovite ‘shockworkers’ often boiled over into punch-ups and machine wrecking.
2016, Simon Ings, “The great patron”, in Stalin and the Scientists: A History of Triumph and Tragedy 1905–1953, London: Faber & Faber, →ISBN, part 2 (Power (1929–1941)), page 2372 more examples
Communist subbotniki (Communist Volunteer Saturday Workers) were shockworkers who volunteered their free Saturdays for the Bolshevik cause.
2004, Steven Rosefielde, “Subbotnik”, in James R[obert] Millar, editor, Encyclopedia of Russian History, New York, N.Y.: Macmillan Reference USA, →ISBN, page 1492, column 1Shockworkers undertook longer shifts and worked at a faster pace than ordinary workers, thereby exceeding production norms.
2009, Maria Gough, “Production”, in Jeffrey T[hompson] Schnapp, editor, Speed Limits, Milan: Skira, →ISBN, “Speed Writings” section, page 111
Cite this entry
shockworker. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shockworker
“shockworker.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shockworker. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shockworker,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shockworker.
Source: shockworker on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.