You finally come home from your 9-to-6 job or college, all tired, and you finally get some time to rest. However, a thought immediately pops up in your head: ‘I can use this time to do something else’. This is not just an individual problem; almost every Gen Z feels the same guilt. Today, for many young people, resting has become uncomfortable because the previous generation had tied productivity to self-worth. If you aren't studying, working, exercising, networking or learning something new, it can feel as though you're wasting time.
Why does doing nothing feel so uncomfortable for a generation that is constantly told to prioritise wellbeing? The root cause can be that, from childhood, children are often made to feel guilty for not being productive enough. They've constantly been told to study, work harder or “do something useful”, and this can condition them to associate rest with laziness or wasted time. This behaviour carries into adulthood; as a result, even as adults, they may feel guilty when they are not doing something they consider productive. Therefore, even resting after a long day feels bad or like falling behind.
The Internet Made Productivity Visible 24/7
Social media has always played a major role in shaping people’s views, especially among Gen Z. This generation is constantly exposed to social media, where people often discuss numerous topics, including their personal lives. Posts like 5 AM morning routines, "Day in my life" videos, study-with-me content, Gym routines, Side hustles, Career achievements, Productivity hacks, etc often make these youth feel like they're way behind in their lives and others are moving forward.
The problem isn't necessarily that these things exist. It's that social media can create the impression that everyone else is constantly improving themselves. So even when you're resting, someone else's productivity appears on your screen, making you feel guilty for resting.
Hustle Culture Turned Rest Into A Reward
Today’s youth are trying out various things during their spare time. After a tiring 9-5 job, the remaining hours aren't seen as time to rest, but as a window to explore and improve other skills. The hustle culture has encouraged people to turn their spare time into another income stream. This culture has made resting into something that should be earned. The mindset is simple: "I'll rest after I finish everything." But there is almost always another assignment, email, deadline, workout or personal goal waiting.
Gradually, resting stops being a normal part of life and turns into a reward for being productive. As a result, what we get is a generation that is completely exhausted yet feels guilty about taking a break, because somewhere along the way, being busy became synonymous with being successful.
Even Leisure Has Become Productive
The generation is so into productivity that even leisurely hobbies are turned into another task. Reading a book comes with the pressure to choose something educational, going to the gym becomes about optimising the body, cooking turns into meal prep, and travelling can become another opportunity to create content. Even watching a film can bring the thought, "I should have been working instead." Since they expect every activity to benefit them in some way, entertainment can feel like wasted time. Leisure is no longer simply about enjoying the moment. It becomes another box to tick, measure or turn into something useful.
Rest vs Laziness
An important point that the current generation needs to understand is that resting does not equal laziness. Resting can mean sleeping, spending quality time with friends or family, watching something, taking a walk, sitting quietly or simply having an afternoon with no plans. There is no need to attach a productive outcome to every activity we do.
Rest is a normal part of life, not something that has to be justified by how much work was completed beforehand. Yet, when people grow up hearing that free time should be spent doing something "useful", doing nothing can start to feel uncomfortable. Not every hour needs to produce a result.
Why Scrolling Doesn't Always Feel Like Rest
For many young people, switching off from work does not necessarily mean switching off altogether. After closing a laptop, it is easy to spend an hour scrolling through Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. While this may feel like a break, the brain is still taking in a constant stream of information, notifications, opinions and other people's lives.
Social media can also bring comparison into what was supposed to be downtime. As already mentioned, social media has a pool of content related to various aspects of life. The consumption of such content has, most of the time, created a sense of comparison between ourselves and the creators. We might often wonder, ‘How do they take the time out to do this?’ Seeing someone studying, working out, travelling or building a business can quickly turn a relaxed evening into a reminder of everything we are not doing.
Learning to rest without justification
Can we really take some time out to rest without justifying it with any reasons? It is possible, but the answer isn’t to stop being ambitious or productive. It's to accept that rest doesn't always need a reason. Instead of making a to-do list in your head and making rest into a reward for checking things off, create a safe space for yourself. Sleep does not need to improve your performance, a movie does not need to teach you something, and an afternoon spent doing nothing does not need to become a memory worth posting online.
The guilt of resting can only be erased when you understand that productivity is not the enemy of resting. Perhaps the real challenge for Gen Z is not learning how to work harder, but learning that doing nothing for a while does not mean doing nothing with their lives.
