Productivity Guilt
prod-uk-TIV-ih-tee giltnoun
DiagnosisChronic, rest-activated
What it means
The low-grade dread of not working, felt most sharply while resting, which cancels the rest and guarantees the need for more of it.
What it actually means
I cannot enjoy this because I should be working.
How it is used in a sentence
"I tried to have a quiet Sunday and felt guilty the entire time."
Filed under
Lifestyle & Well-Being — The industry built around resting properly, which has somehow become another job.
Coinage — There was no phrase for this. We supplied one.
Related entries
Rest As Reward
Lifestyle & Well-Beingrest az rih-WORDnounCoinage
The belief that rest must be earned through exhaustion, which guarantees that by the time you are permitted to rest you are no longer able to.
Real meaningSleep is a prize and you have not won it yet.
Burnout
Work & AmbitionBURN-owtnounDiagnosis
The occupational condition produced by a culture that has a word for it precisely so that it does not have to change.
Real meaningYou are exhausted and it is your responsibility to fix it.