As weekdays bleed into weekends, we are left with the looming pressure of work. Roughly 50% of people’s waking hours are spent working; in turn, there is a sleep deprivation crisis facing the United States and much of the globe. A resistance movement in China called ‘Tang Ping,’ or lying flat, aims to rebalance life and work by quitting your job.
The movement started in April 2021 with a social media post by Luo Huazhong. In the post, he showcases his low stress and minimalist lifestyle, including taking low-paying and inconsistent jobs to get by. For him it is more than just quitting your job, “Lying flat is a state of mind.”
His ideas resonated with many, especially given China’s work culture of 12-hour shifts, six days a week. Dissatisfaction with work isn’t limited to just China; roughly 46% of Gen Z in the U.S. would rather be unemployed than employed and unhappy.
A sister movement to lying flat evolved in the U.S., labeled ‘quiet quitting.’ Although less extreme, it means doing the bare minimum required for your job. Proponents see this as a catalyst for widespread work-life balance.
Aiden H., a senior at Skyline, disagrees, saying, “Quiet quitting to me seems like mutually assured destruction in terms of my work experience at the same time as employers lose productive employees.” In his view, there are other ways to prioritize balance, such as spacing out work to your best ability.
The trigger for these movements was largely the Covid-19 pandemic. With many losing their jobs and forced to stay at home, a great reevaluation of work began. People started prioritizing free time and work flexibility overpay.
It is a push back to the pre-industrial work cycle. According to Juliet Schor, a professor at Boston College, “Holiday leisure time in medieval England took up probably about one-third of the year.” In modern-day United States, workers average only 10-14 vacation days per year.
Of course, the life of a medieval peasant wasn’t better than modern times. The average lifespan was only 30 years and disease ran amuck. But modern-day working culture has its own medical problems, both physical and physical.
According to the World Health Organization, roughly 750,000 people die each year from heart disease and stroke caused by long working hours. Long working hours contribute to high-stress and sleep deprivation, which if prolonged over months or years, can have a serious toll on health.
It is hard to say if ‘lying flat’ or ‘quiet quitting’ is working to change work culture, but as the negative effects of overworking become more and more evident, change is needed.
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