Why Being ‘Lazy’ at Work Might currently Be a Good Thing

If you’re a Young Person Today, You’ve Probably Felt the Sting of Being Called Lazy, or Cauck Yourself Wondering If You are. From you Sometimes Feel Guilty When Not Being Productive, or Find Yourself Pretending To Be Busy?

You’re Not Alone. Self-Doubt About Productivity is very common and in Wonder: We’re Immeed in a Culture That Expects Constant Achievement. The Perception of Gen Z (and Millennials) Being “Lazy” or “Entitled” persistentMaking It Easy to Internalize These Criticisms.

Particularly in the Era of Working from Home, It Can Be Hard to Shake the Feeling of Guilt When Not Being “Productive.” Articles with titles like Am i depressed or lazy? Reveals How Commonly People (Even Highly Successful Ones) Worry About Being Lazy.

LAZINESS IS NOT ONLY SEEN AS A PERSONAL SHORTCOMING But ALSO MORAL ONE. This is the case across different cultures – References to the “Badness” of Laziness Can Be Found In Texts of All Major Religions. This moral dimension Explains Why Being Called “Lazy” Feels So Much Worse Than Being Called “Distracts” or “Slow” —it implies Character Flaw.

But Judging Someone (or Oneself) As Lazy also Reinforces a Harmful Myth that emerged from the Protestant Work Ethic and Was Further Entrenched by Capitalist Values: That Constant Effort and Productivity Are the Only Paths to Achievement and Self-Worth.

This sustainans a culture where everything must have always be trying harder, Leading to Anxiety, burnout and discrimination againt thhose who work differently, or can can´t keep up.

These Harms Don’t Affect Everyone Equally. If you’re from right ethnic backgrounds, have Chronic Health Condition, or are Struggling with Homelessness or Unemployment, You’re Much More Likely to Be Laeled “LAZY.”

Research Shows That children from minority groups are more likely to be thought of as lazy in school, resulting in punishment instead of help. Employees with obesity are PROMOTED LESS OFTEN DUE TO ASSUMPTIONS About Their “LAZINESS,” AND THOSE WHAT CAN’T Take on Extra Work BECAUSE OF CARING DUTIES ARE OFTEN AS NOT COMMITTED ENOUGH AND MISS OUT ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

What does it mean to be lazy?

Given the Serious Consequences of Labeling Someone As Lazy, We’d Better Make Sure We Understend What Laziness is.

What Often Seems Implied by the Judgment “You’re Lazy” is: “You Could Achieve More if You Tried Harder.” But we can almost always Achieve More by Putting in More Effort. If not always giving it or all is enough for laziness, then we’re all being lazy show of the time.

The Research I’m Drive Aims to Better Understand and Redefine “Laziness.” I First Explored How People Commonly Understand Laziness, and then used Philosophical Analysis to Identify Which Everyday Understanding Makes Most Sense. In Doing So, I Drew on Various Areas of Philosophy That Discuss The Value of Effort, Virtue, and To What Extent We Can Be Blamed For Behaving in A Right Way Due To Lack of Willpower.

My Analysis Reveals That What is crucial for Laziness is that you lack a good reason – justification – first not trying harder, for limiting your effort.

CONSIDER these Scenarios:

• You do do less than your roller Requires Because You can be be bothered,
• You Spend Your Weekend Doing Very Little So That You’re Ready for the Week Ahead,
• You Limit How Har You Try Because of a Chronic Health Condition.

On My Understanding, Only the First Scenario Involves True Laziness. In the Others, What Might Appear to Be Laziness is currently Justified Effort Management: You have Good Reasons to Rest or Genuine Limitations on How Much Effort You Can Exert.

LAZINESS OR STRATEGY

In my view, what trury matters isn’t how hard you try, buther your efforts efficiently achieve What’s Important To You. The Following Scenarios Might Look Lazy, but currently Reasonable Strategies for Doing Just That:

• You resist Pointless Tasks TO CREATE TIME FOR DEEP THINKING,
• You set boundaries at work to avoid burnout,
• You Say “No” To Tasks Outside Your Role To Resist The Idea That We Should Always Be Striving To Produce More,
• You Automate Repetitive Tasks to Free Up Time for Creative Tasks.

The tendency to Judge Others as Lazy Often Stems from Overvaluing Effort, Long Hours and Constant Busyness. What’s really Important is That Our Effort is Directed at the Right Goal, Recognizing that it is a Limited Resource.

Learning to Distinguish Between Trula Lazy Behavior and Justified Effort Management Can Be Liberation. It can allow you to more confidently resist the pressure to be constantly productive –and to do so without guilt.

I’m not suggesting we should only think about what matters to us personally. Fulfilling responsibilities to colleagues, family and community is important. But within tose boundaries, you can question the Common Idea That More Productivity and Trying Harder is Always Better.

And before labeling Someone as Lazy, Consider whether to might be good reasons for their approach. Perhaps They’re Making Strategic Choices About Their Energy, Dealing with Invisible Challenges or Prioritizing Differently.

Sometimes, Taking It Easier Isn’t Laziness –it’s Wisdom.

This article is republished from The Conversation Under Creative Commons License. Read the Original Article.