Under a capitalist system, you are very often expected to work beyond your capacity regardless of its detriments to your mental health and trivialization to your worth. Excessively working can lead to a potential burnout in which you will be physically and mentally exhausted. Often, people tend to be oblivious towards the amount of work they put in on a weekly basis. Some pull all-nighters to complete the work they are assigned. In conclusion, people need to be productive. Taking days off for your mental health may seem like such a ludicrous and ridiculous idea for many people. Again, this idea stems from capitalism since this system has imposed such unattainable standards of productivity. Thus, deviating from the norm and being unproductive can be deemed as such a so-called revolutionary act which may not be taken lightly. A stigma associated with being unproductive does arise.
How Did it Stem?
A numerous amount of people had their parents force them to study and do their homework instead of “sitting down and doing nothing”. At that time, the stigma can be very palpable. Then, during high school, you would have a huge burden of work every single week, whether it was tests, assignments, or projects. After high school, you would most probably go to university where the burden of work augments and education becomes more stressful and pressuring. After university, you would strive to find a job to secure your necessities. As shown, there is a continuous cyclical never-ending pattern of work, drain, and struggle. Hence, the stigmatization of unproductivity is inevitable as you, from a very young age, are expected to be productive every day. Weekends can be utilized for bouncing back from the substantial amount of stress and anxiety you endured that week. However, these 2 days might not suffice for everyone. Some people may need more than 2 days to completely regain their mental capabilities and start a new week of stress. As mentioned, this loop of continuous work makes unproductivity very undesirable.
Internalized Capitalism and its Relation to the Stigma
Two terms related to capitalism explicitly describe the relationship between capitalism and the stigma associated with unproductivity. Those terms are “internalized capitalism”. They refer to how people are inclined to equate their self-wroth to their level of productivity. Basically, a human cannot love themselves as a mere human being. They should be a human doing. If someone has internalized capitalism, they would always try to make the best out of their time even if they have so much time on their hands. They would believe that doing absolutely nothing is unacceptable. Those terms further emphasize the fact that unproductivity is completely rejected and should not be accepted as it would portray a person as a lazy and sluggish person.
The Insensitivity of the Stigma
The definition of unproductivity is “not producing goods and services with exchange value.” The definition itself implies that to be productive, you should produce goods. However, a human being is not a robot or any sort of piece of technology. A human cannot remain producing goods and services every single day since there are many obstructions that hinder them from doing so. These obstructions include their financial status, their relationships, and, most importantly, their mental health. Thus, the stigma associated with unproductivity is really insensitive to any and every person and their attributes as it trivializes their concerns and urges people to continuously be productive. A person should not feel guilty when they sit down and do completely nothing. They should appreciate themselves by dedicating this time towards reflecting on their self and enjoying their own company.