I know I've seen this word somewhere before. It's when a subordinate follows instructions exactly as given when the subordinate knows that the instructions will result in a negative effect (damage to systems, broken processes, etc).
Learn English – Term used to describe someone who explicitly follows directions when they know that doing so will result in a negative effect
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Best Answer
Malicious compliance is one phrase, although there might be a better one out there. As @StoneyB points out in the comments, in a union environment it would be called "work to rule" or rule-book slowdown.
An example of malicious compliance is if someone says to me "Drop that dirty dish in the sink for me, would you?" and I actually drop it in the sink knowing that the dish will break instead of placing it in the sink as the asker obviously intended me to do.
An example of "work to rule" is this article in a local paper, Teachers institute ‘work to rule’ plan