Elites frame rest as lost production, reshaping work and policy
Helena Anillo argues that messages from centres of power present downtime as unproductive, seeping into workplace norms and public policy.
Key Points
- Centres of power portray rest as a lost opportunity for production.
- That stance filters into workplace culture, encouraging long hours and busyness.
- Responsibility for wellbeing is shifted to individuals, stigmatizing rest.
- Solutions include limiting work hours, strengthening paid leave, and normalising rest.
Helena Anillo argues that the message coming from the centres of power is clear: rest is viewed as a lost opportunity for production. According to her, this stance shapes expectations about work and time, framing downtime as something to be minimised or justified rather than as a necessary component of health and creativity.
She suggests that when elites treat rest as unproductive, it filters down into workplace cultures and public policy, reinforcing long hours, the glorification of busyness, and pressure to monetise every moment. That dynamic can weaken protections for leisure and recovery, stigmatise those who take breaks, and shift responsibility for well-being onto individuals rather than institutions.
Anillo calls for a reconsideration of how society values rest, noting potential responses such as policies that limit excessive work hours, strengthen paid leave, or normalise rest as part of productive life. Reframing rest as essential rather than expendable, she contends, would address health and social inequalities that arise when recovery is treated as a luxury rather than a right.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: