featherbed

nouns

a mattress stuffed with feathers

feather bed, featherbed

treat with excessive indulgence

"grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!"

baby, cocker, coddle, cosset, featherbed, indulge, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil

hire more workers than are necessary

featherbed

is a type of (narrower)

engage or hire for work

"They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?"