If you're a young person today, you've probably felt the sting of being called lazy, or caught yourself wondering if you are. Do you sometimes feel guilty when not being productive, or find yourself pretending to be busy?
Author
- Katrien Devolder
Director of Public Philosophy, Professor of Applied Ethics, University of Oxford
You're not alone. Self-doubt about productivity is very common and no wonder: we're immersed in a culture that expects constant achievement. The perception of Gen Z (and Millennials) being "lazy" or "entitled" persists , making it easy to internalise 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 a 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 "distracted" or "slow" - it implies a 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 sustains a culture where everyone must always be trying harder, leading to anxiety, burnout and discrimination against those who work differently, or can't keep up.
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These harms don't affect everyone equally. If you're from certain ethnic backgrounds, have a chronic health condition, or are struggling with homelessness or unemployment, you're much more likely to be labelled "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 who can't take on extra work because of caring duties are often seen as not committed enough and miss out on professional development.
What does it mean to be lazy?
Given the serious consequences of labelling someone as lazy, we'd better make sure we understand what laziness is.
What often seems implied by the judgement "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 our all is enough for laziness, then we're all being lazy most of the time.
The research I'm conducting 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 certain way due to lack of willpower.
My analysis reveals that what is crucial for laziness is that you lack a good reason - a justification - for not trying harder, for limiting your effort.
Consider these scenarios:
- You do less than your role requires because you can't be bothered,
- You spend your weekend doing very little so that you're ready for the week ahead,
- You limit how hard 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 actually 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 truly matters isn't how hard you try, but whether your efforts efficiently achieve what's important to you . The following scenarios might look lazy, but are actually 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, recognising that it is a limited resource.
Learning to distinguish between truly lazy behaviour and justified effort management can be liberating. 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 those boundaries, you can question the common idea that more productivity and trying harder is always better.
And before labelling someone as lazy, consider whether there might be good reasons for their approach. Perhaps they're making strategic choices about their energy, dealing with invisible challenges or prioritising differently.
Sometimes, taking it easier isn't laziness - it's wisdom.
Katrien Devolder does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
