"Now were they being stupid hanging onto a slow inefficient and deliberately time wasting process, or intelligent because following this procedure kept them busy and employed?"
Stupid. If they wanted to stay busy and employed without taking on more work and the employer didn't understand the savings to be gained, they still could avoid a lot of monotony by using the formula anyway and not telling people. That would let them complete their tasks in a fraction of the time and earn the label of the one who doesn't make calculator mistakes, meanwhile they'd have plenty of time where they'd be paid to do something of their choosing.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
