WORK-LIFE BALANCE GETTING YOU DOWN? THE SOLUTION TO FINDING HAPPINESS IS SIMPLE: BE MORE IDLE

From a very young age we’re told that the solution to all problems is hard work. Falling behind at school? Work harder! Want to earn more money? Work harder! Relationship stress? Work on it! Feeling overwhelmed? Get up earlier. Run to the factory. Work, work, work!

Governments love work. The Tories told us that they were the party of “hard-working families”. The clue to Labour’s priority is in its name.

In China and America things have gone mad. The Chinese often slave away in a corporation from nine in the morning till nine at night, six days a week. The founder of JD.com, an e-commerce group, recently warned staff: “We have employees who prefer to enjoy life, who put life first and work second. I can understand not wanting to work hard, everyone makes different choices . . . so I can only say that you are not our brother, you are a passer-by. We should not be working together.”

In the US, there is no statutory holiday allowance, so it’s common for people to work all year round without ever going on vacation. And people don’t like working. Here in the UK, a recent Gallup poll tells us that a mere 10% of Brits actually enjoy their job.

Put simply, the work ethic isn’t working. In fact, it’s killing people. The UN reports that nearly 3 million people die every year as a direct result of their job. That’s more than drugs, alcohol and war combined. So why do we see no war on work?

The solution to this problem is very simple. It’s not more work. It’s less work. It’s more idling. What do I mean by idling? Well, idling is not the same as laziness, or giving up. It’s a conscious attempt to take time away from the bosses and give it back to ourselves.

Idling means rest, meditation, prayer, going for long walks, being with friends, staring at the sky, daydreaming, going to festivals, making merry, reading, contemplating beautiful things. It means sitting under a tree with a bottle of wine and your beloved, just being.

There’s a misconception out there that only the rich can be idle. Nothing can be further from the truth. We can all make more time for idling. Unplug the phone. Turn off the telly. Walk home.

Idling is about good living. It’s about being happy. Money and success may give you a kick, and no one wants to be poor, but real happiness lies in enjoying your life all day long, not just at weekends and during your feeble allocation of holiday time.

Politicians should do much less. If violent patriarchal leaders stayed at home and put their feet up and read poetry instead of killing people for land and oil, then the world would be a happier place. And the UK would be in a much better state if Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris had simply gone to sleep for five years. Just stop it!

Climate change is a direct consequence of man’s inability to sit still and stare at the clouds. Carbon emissions are a result of bustle and toil and movement and competition. The most effective response to global warming would be to take the day off and lie under a tree in the park. That way, you do no harm and cause no pollution. Lockdowns had the amazing effect of massively reducing oil consumption. Idling is good for the planet.

The smartphone means that we are plugged into the matrix 24/7, a willing receptacle for beeping updates, terrifying news, seductive advertising and political propaganda. It’s a little worry box, tormenting us with images of people who are richer and more stylish and have fuller lips than us and are having a non-stop fabulous time on a yacht. Instagram causes a problem: anxiety. Then it promises to solve that problem: buy something!

The solution to the problem of too much work is simple. It’s more idling. It’s “do less”. It’s slow down. Rest. Look at the flowers. Ponder the imponderables. “Consider the lilies,” said Jesus. “They toil not, neither do they spin.” That’s why we started the Idler Festival: to give us the chance to spend three days in a beautiful garden, feeding your mind, body and spirit with the good stuff.

Or you may prefer just to stay at home.

Tom Hodgkinson is editor of the Idler magazine. The annual Idler Festival takes place this weekend from July 5 to 7, at Fenton House in Hampstead. For more information visit idler.co.uk

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2024-07-05T08:05:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd