Book: Laziness Does not Exist

Image courtesy of simonandschuster.co.uk

Author: Devon Price Ph. D.

Author and social psychologist Devon Price uncovers the laziness lie and provides practical and accessible advice for overcoming society’s pressure to always “do more” or the cultural miss of valorizing hard work. 

Modern work ethic tells us we should always be busy, that working hard is a virtue and for some employees having the guilt feeling of they’re never doing enough. Others even equate the amount of hours worked to productivity and self-worth.

The Laziness Lie:

1. Your worth is your productivity.
2. You cannot trust your own feelings and limits.
3. There is always more you could be doing.

In some forms, busyness is perceived as a status symbol and a sign of importance and that idleness is not sophisticated. If you take a break or say “no” to something, the laziness lie tells you that there is some moral failure on your side. 

Dr. Price touched on the origin of the concept of laziness that rooted in the 16th century during the time of the Puritans, slavery, and the start of capitalism. Driven from the book, “The Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism” by Max Weber. During this time, slaves were indoctrinated that hard work is valuable.

We are now living in a “gig” economy, we have Upwork, TaskRabbit, and Uber apps. The "gig" economy has arrived in full force, swallowing the free time and brain space of most driven millennials today. All this intense over-commitment and over-work is ultimately self-defeating and harmful. 

The truth is, human beings can only work so much. Our will-power and attention is only limited. Our attention is naturally scattered and that’s how our brain was built. We are not made to work for full eight hours per day. To do good work, a person has to rest and find moments to enjoy the beauty of life. Quality work requires time for rest. 

Working longer hours does not mean productivity. Work-fatigue kills productivity. The more we work, the less we are able to accomplish and the less unique and meaningful our work becomes. A long and excessively demanding workday erodes a person’s capacity to think well and to produce meaningful results.

Dr. Price offers science-based reassurances that productivity does not determine a person’s worth and suggests that the solution to problems of overwork and stress lie in resisting the pressure to do more and instead learn to embrace doing enough. Featuring interviews with researchers and consultants and experiences from real people drowning in too much work, Laziness Does Not Exist encourages us to let go of guilt and become more attuned to our own limitations and needs and resist the pressure to meet outdated societal expectations.

In Wild Mind Collective site, Kaitlin shared the following questions to determine if your life is on the right track:

1. When am I most in my element?
2. What doesn’t bring me alive? What feels dreadful?
3. What do I find inexhaustibly fascinating?
4. When have I been most happy?
5. Who are the people I want to work with?
6. What do I need to be physically well?

Answering these questions point to how vital it is to create a life that we find enjoyable and enriching. Using these questions can help you walk away from an environment that is toxic and overly demanding.

Here are some concrete steps how to be able to thrive from the traditional workplace and detach from the mainstream moralistic expectation of we should be spending our time:

1. Advocate for your autonomy

Share the science of autonomy and motivation with your manager and with your colleagues. The more informed people are, the more they can move toward an autonomous workplace.
Ask for flex time and remote work options. Covid-19 demonstrated how an unconventional work system like remote work can be just as effective as coming into the office. A flexible schedule gives more freedom to set their own priorities and can build a day that allows time for relaxation, family obligations, and work.
Take on responsibilities that excites you. Research shows the employees who define what you want your professional life to be are more engaged and will flourish in the career path they have created.

 2. Focus on quality not hours spent at work

Focus on your results, this can fundamentally change the way how you feel and advocate yourself to an employer. You can consider asking yourself these questions:

What is something I accomplish this month that I am really proud of?
How have my skills grown in the past year?
Have I found more effective ways of doing old tasks?
Have I improved processes at my workplace or made things run more smoothly?
How have I supported other people in doing their jobs more effectively?

3. Break the work-life interference loop
Know your boundaries and limits are. Recognize how people cope with stress. It comes back to granting people autonomy and trusting them to get things done at a pace that is naturally sustainable and right.