For decades now social-psychologists have known the truth about our culture, but despite the research (and the lived experience) to back it up, we have remained here, working desperately to build our lives out of the time taken up by our jobs, our families, our health, our friends. We are doing all these things, and left over with no or very little time or energy to realize just how exhausted we are.

“Research on productivity, burnout, and mental health all suggest that an average workday is far too long and that other commitments that we often think of as normal… are not sustainable for most people.” Pg. 9.

Laziness Does Not Exist is an appeal against what Price has aptly named ‘The Laziness Lie’. The Lie that culture teaches us about our own worth and what we must achieve in order to earn our places. This rhetoric, this belief system, is the reason why so many of us fall into people-pleasing and perfectionistic habits. Why it is truly so hard to say ‘no’, or ‘not now’. Why some of us fill every spare moment with anything and everything that can be deemed productive. These patterns have a long history in our culture and Price does well to provide the big picture so we might be able to appreciate that it’s not just us, and it isn’t our fault. The ‘Laziness Lie’ also tells us that those of us who work harder deserve more, that we are stronger and smarter, that our value is higher. Price helps dismantle these irrational and problematic ways of thinking.

“The thing that we call “laziness” is often actually a powerful self-preservation instinct… Our bodies and minds are screaming for some peace and quiet.” Pg. 10.

“The Laziness Lie is a belief system that says hard work is morally superior to relaxation, that people who aren't productive have less innate value.” Pg. 15.

“ The Laziness Lie teaches us that the harder you work, the better person you are, but it never actually defines what an acceptable level of hard work might look like.” Pg. 22. 

We use the word ‘lazy’ and other’s of its calibre to brush off and minimize our own, and other people’s, suffering. We use it to place blame on ourselves or eachother and avoid acknowledgement of our own limits or circumstances. And this thinking is reflected back at us everywhere, from movies to songs to videogames. We are told again and again that the skills and talents that make us feel worthwhile “don’t really belong to us; they exist to be used.” Pg. 28.

“This understanding of the world has left many of us constitutionally incapable of caring for ourselves, let alone extending full compassion to others.” Pg. 23.

With empathy and care Price describes his own experience in burnout, and his own work noticing these flaws in his thinking and behaviour, and of digging these beliefs up and questioning them. He points out ways society tricks us into making us work harder than we need to. He outlines what these concepts might be better replaced with: compassion, a value for rest, an intrinsic sense of worth, an acceptance for limitations, and a new standard for relationships and life at work. Anyone who wants to better their boundaries would benefit from reading this book. He teaches us to respect feelings we would rather ignore.

“I couldn't understand why willpower wasn't enough to make me well.” Pg. 20.

“”Wasting time” is a basic human need.” Pg. 36.

Price explores the very real consequences of the burnout The Laziness Lie catapults us all into. By failing to respect our limits or understand our needs we face pervasive consequences in mental health, relationships, work performance, and general life fulfillment. Burnout often limits our capacity for connection, empathy, and wholeheartedness. Which is one thing when you're a data analyst, but entirely another when you’re a health care professional. 

“These people, who likely went into their fields because they cared about others, we're now unable to feel genuine empathy for those they were there to serve. they reported feeling numb and hopeless, or even jaded.” Ph. 87

Price explores the causes, and potential solutions to burnout.

“Avoiding burnout wasn't just about working less. It had to do with the person's outlook, and whether their organization reported their efforts. Perfectionists were particularly susceptible to burnout, for example, as were people who set unrealistically high goals for themselves. Workplaces where the goals were big and projects were never completed tend to have more burned out workers.” Pg. 89

My only criticism is that it feels a little repetitive, but this may not be everyone's experience and it’s certainly not a bad thing. Much of what Price has to say bears repeating.

Favorite Quotes

“When you've been alienated by society over and over again, you tend to look totally checked out, even if you're really busting your ass.” Pg. 14 

“ When we don't have work to do it can feel like we don't have a reason to live .” Pg. 16.

“It was very important to the colonies’ wealthy and enslaving class that they find a way to motivate enslaved people to work hard, despite the fact that enslaved people had nothing to gain from it. One powerful way to do so was through religious teachings and indoctrination…  That suffering was morally righteous and that slaves would be rewarded in heaven for being docile, agreeable, and, most important, diligent.” Pg. 24.

“Enslaved people who tried to run away from bondage for seeing as mentally ill and suffering from “Runaway Slave Disorder.”” Pg. 24.

“The wealthy and highly educated began to claim that poor whites also can be trusted with idle time. In fact, too many breaks could make a person antisocial.” Pg. 25.

“I’ve been taught to constantly measure my accomplishments and see how they stack up against somebody else's, I feel threatened when a person seems to be ahead of me.” Pg. 31.

“We've been browbeaten into saying yes for so long that we don't know what a confident no feels like.” Pg. 42.

“It turns out that slacking can actually help you be creative and reflective.” Pg. 53

“Wasting time is important, healthy, and normal.” Pg. 54.

“For some of us, the process of learning to set work life boundaries is largely an internal exercise; in far too many cases, however, the pressure to overexert ourselves comes from the outside.” Pg. 60. 

““Vacation guilt”... makes it hard for us to feel comfortable actually using those vacation days up.” Pg. 78.

“When companies fail to provide employees with adequate sick-leave policies and managers believe their workers into working while ill, the public health consequences are massive. Many sick employees spread the coronavirus to their co-workers and fellow commuters because they weren't able to take time off from work in the early days of the pandemic.” Pg. 79

“We can't maintain consistent output for more than a couple of hours per day. We were not made to work a full eight hours per day, despite that being considered the reasonable “humane” workday length in much of the world.”

“So there's a great deal of social pressure and cultural programming that says otherwise, being productive and effective at work is not a simple act of will and determination. To do good work, a person has to rest and find moments to enjoy the beauty in life. more hours of work doesn't equal greater productivity.” Pg.81.

“The more a person works past that forty-hour limit, the less efficient and accurate they seem to be at their job. Past the fifty-hour point, a person's productivity declines very sharply; past the fifty-five-hour point, and a person is so unproductive and tired that they might as well not be at work at all.” Pg. 82. 

“Attention fluctuates naturally because the human brain is constantly scanning the environment for new information, potential threats, opportunities for social contact, and more.” Pg. 84.

“The more tired and overwhelmed an employee became, the more they tended to withdraw emotionally from their jobs, and the less likely they were to show up for work.” Pg. 85. 

“The shift online was a drastic and sudden change for a lot of organizations, but it demonstrated in a stark way that flexible schedules and telework can be just as effective as coming into the office. At this point in history, every organization needs to be open to unconventional work systems and schedules.” Pg. 97

“He obsesses over social problems he doesn't have the power to solve, as if worrying were a productive form of activism. He struggled with an addiction to reading the news, cramming his brain with as much upsetting information as he possibly can.” Pg. 132

“When the news presents health-related information in a pessimistic way, people are actually less likely to take steps to protect themselves from illness as a result.” Pg. 142

“When people are distracted or overloaded, they're less likely to notice that someone is lying to them and worse at evaluating the quality or trustworthiness of information thrown their way. Ironically, we might be at the greatest risk for falling for “fake news” when we’re habitually consuming too much information.” Pg. 143

“We tend to be a bit gullible and uncritical when we’re first introduced to a new idea. It's only by taking the time to reflect on new knowledge that we can really make deeper sense of it.” Pg. 149

“In order to form authentic, safe bonds with others, we must get comfortable with letting other people down.” Pg. 160

“The Laziness Lie loves to blame victims for their own oppression.” Pg. 168

“Nearly every choice is highly politicized… Many parents report feeling guilty and uncertain about their choices, and fear being socially rejected for failing to raise their kids perfectly.” Pg. 173

“When parents discuss mistakes with their children, they create an open line of communication that makes the relationship more resilient and capable of growth. Research also suggests that parents who are comfortable with making mistakes are more accepting of their children's flaws and screwups as well. Pg. 175

“We've been taught to see fat as a sign of inexcusable “ laziness.” “Fat” and “Lazy” are two terms that often go together. Both are used to pass moral judgment on a person and to express disgust at who they are and how they live.” Pg. 189

“One study even showed that women who spent a lot of time thinking about their bodies actually get worse at solving math problems as a result of the distraction and distress.” Pg. 191

“We often dismiss people as “lazy” when we can't understand the reasons for their inertia or inaction. If someone's behavior makes no sense to us, passing judgment on it feels very natural.” Pg. 207