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Treading water, doing the minimum to get by. Originated from working on a "PC" or Personal Computer. If there is no activity for several minutes in a row, the screen will go blank or a screensaver pops up, showing your co-workers that you are not doing any work (both in the office and monitoring remotely). So to "Move the Mouse" is to do just enough to get by as to not be outed as a slacker or non-productive.
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