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“I better be lazy because I want to live my life”—said the post pandemic human.

“I better be lazy because I want to live my life”—said the post pandemic human.
Published On: 29-Mar-2022
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Article by

Azka Durani


A lesson to be drawn from the post-pandemic world is this: Work from home without the need to commute, is a privilege and at the same time a curse. Why? (Wo)man is a creature of habit. His/her day is structured around work, commute, water cooler talk, evening tea and sleep. Some don’t fall into this structured ambit at all. Those are self-disciplined creatures waking up by their biological clock rather than phone alarm regime of hit snooze and repeat. They don’t need external simulation or help because they are wired that way either because of a good nurturing environment in their childhood or simply because they are not easily distracted by external events. These people managed well during covid-19 pandemic. They managed their day better than many because they were comfortable in adverse conditions. On the other hand, a majority of people who depended on their environment at work, wanted to use the daily commute and observe people and  interact with them, were truly frustrated at the loss of this routine. Slowly they adjusted to their work environments and truly embraced the quiet life of work, eating and sleep. Apparently observing there was little room for laziness in all of this, but it seeped in too fast because of a couple of factors.

The hard part is to establish a habit, but it’s easier to break one and get into a downward spiral. According to behavioral psychology experts it takes 66 days to establish a habit and 261 days to solidify and make it a part of your life. In lockdown it took a couple of months for people to give away their grounding in life habits, even the self-disciplined ones found themselves gravitating towards periods of inaction. The scale of productivity for the majority of the people declined with minor exceptions of people whose productivity doubled in this time period. There were a lot of factors for this: it was easier to hit the bed during breaks, it was easier to eat at wrong timings and it was comfortable for some to ignore work and dilly dally it constantly. These were the ones who after lockdown was over were very much reluctant to get back to the on field work force. Besides habitual, there were economic reasons as well. Some employees, teachers and students were satisfied and relieved that they didn't have to spend money on commuting, spending money on clothes and on socializing. They saved up during lockdown and this is what more and less everyone wants.  Also this was beneficial for students who were juggling work with studies

Besides the laziness that sank in people during this era there was a kind of existential crisis that was faced by many during this time. More isolation meant more thoughts about oneself. This practice and facing your past and thoughts needs courage and focus and a meditative mind. One would be particularly lucky if they are mentally healthy and they can philosophize about certain happenings in the world. The existential crisis and a dread of lives ahead takes over and creates anxiety. Some employees who find their work as an escape from their own existence and thoughts tend to be more dependent and lazy in such lockdowns. On the contrary, people are demanding 4 days’ work. Perhaps this is because some people value their freedom and free time more than ever now since they experienced the freedom of conducting their day to day hobbies and activities they could not do with a 9-5 daily grind. In the capitalist world of labor they felt crushed somehow, deprived of their human needs of enjoyment and just breathing a little. People started asking bigger questions about what is the use of this money if there is no health security? Different identities affected all the same by one threat and people looking for God. It seemed as if Sisyphus did not want to push the boulder up the mountain anymore. He wants meaning from his life in this post-pandemic lazy world. He is seeking a work-life balance. 

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