--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have this cultural obsession with work…" description: "\"We have this cultural obsession with work and productivity as if we're better people if we don't stop and take some time for ourselves.\" — Roxane Gay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png" --- # We have this cultural obsession with work and productivity… ![“We have this cultural obsession with work and productivity as if we're better people if we don't stop and take some time for ourselves.” quote by Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png) > “We have this cultural obsession with work and productivity as if we're better people if we don't stop and take some time for ourselves.” [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society glorifies constant work, implying personal worth is tied to productivity, neglecting self‑care. **In simple terms:** Work obsession devalues rest. Key Takeaway Prioritize regular breaks for well‑being. Themes work culture self‑care identity mental health societal norms Mood reflective critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Office environments - freelancers - students managing workloads - individuals feeling guilt when resting Key Concepts productivity myth burnout human value Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits reinforce the work‑worth link? - How can you reframe rest as productive? A Different Perspective Self‑care may be seen as laziness by peers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-people/) [Cultural Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-obsession-606401/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Obsession Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession-work-606402/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Productivity Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity-better-606403/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [In an age in which we can project an image and score that image based on immediate Facebook and Twitter feedback, thus making a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/in-an-age-in-which-we-can-project-an-image-and-score-that-image-based/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“Don't bury personal obsessions. Capitalize on them. ''The connection between personal obsession and the work you do is the most important thing.'' -- Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/don-t-bury-personal-obsessions-capitalize-on-them-the-connection/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [50 years from now we won't need as much human labour to do what manual workers do, so we should be able to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/50-years-from-now-we-won-t-need-as-much-human-labour-to-do-what/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“The researchers found that nearly every change they made was followed by a temporary uptick in performance, even when it involved simply undoing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-herzog/the-researchers-found-that-nearly-every-change-they-made-was-followed/) [Hal Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-herzog/) > [If you don't understand how to run an efficient operation, new machinery will just give you new problems of operation and maintenance. The sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/if-you-don-t-understand-how-to-run-an-efficient-operation-new/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [Government exists for one purpose: to make things better for all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/government-exists-for-one-purpose-to-make-things-better-for-all-people/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [There are no kinder or better people in the world than those who listen to you when you are 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-no-kinder-or-better-people-in-the-world-than-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's crazy to me that people still need to feel better than other people because of something as simple as skin colour or sexuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-o-brian/it-s-crazy-to-me-that-people-still-need-to-feel-better-than-other/) [Katy O'Brian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-o-brian/) > [The world could be a lot better if people correct their own mistakes rather than criticizing others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/the-world-could-be-a-lot-better-if-people-correct-their-own-mistakes/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I think the socialist movement, by removing many, many people from grinding stagnation and poverty and overwork, does enable people not just to lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-think-the-socialist-movement-by-removing-many-many-people-from/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Many people have come and left, and it has been always good because they emptied some space for better people. It is a strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-people-have-come-and-left-and-it-has-been-always-good-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't go on living in past and having regrets. Its better people have a positive influence on other people's lives than worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-mcgrath/you-can-t-go-on-living-in-past-and-having-regrets-its-better-people/) [Glenn McGrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-mcgrath/) > [Britain deserves better than people who say they've got a quick fix but won't tell you what it actually means for Britain, we need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-davidson/britain-deserves-better-than-people-who-say-they-ve-got-a-quick-fix/) [Ruth Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-davidson/) > [Sometimes being alone is better than being with people who do not appreciate your love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-being-alone-is-better-than-being-with-people-who-do-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's better for people to miss you than to have seen too much of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/it-s-better-for-people-to-miss-you-than-to-have-seen-too-much-of-you/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) ## More by Roxane Gay > [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/feminism-is-i-hope-a-way-to-a-better-future-for-everyone-who-inhabits/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Fiction offers escape but it also interrogates the world we live in, whether the past, present or future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/fiction-offers-escape-but-it-also-interrogates-the-world-we-live-in/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I've noticed while cooking, how ingredients in their individual and naked state and be a bit repulsive but necessary, kind of like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ve-noticed-while-cooking-how-ingredients-in-their-individual-and/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I shouted, “This is not right,” knowing my words were useless. There’s no room for such distinctions in a country where too many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-shouted-this-is-not-right-knowing-my-words-were-useless-there-s-no/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Most of my favorite tweets go completely ignored but most of my favorite tweets are probably really lame or inside jokes between me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/most-of-my-favorite-tweets-go-completely-ignored-but-most-of-my/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“What about other women of color? For Hispanic and Latina women, Indian women, Middle Eastern women, Asian women, their absence in popular culture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/what-about-other-women-of-color-for-hispanic-and-latina-women-indian/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-has-been-and-there-will-continue-to-be-vigorous-discussions/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-at-its-best-and-truest-can-offer-solace-and-salvation-for/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-knew-i-was-in-love-with-the-hunger-games-when-i-did-not-want-to-get/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/just-because-you-survive-something-does-not-mean-you-are-strong/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Celebrities understand the economy of thinness, and most of them are willing to participate in that economy, taking to social media, where they pose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/celebrities-understand-the-economy-of-thinness-and-most-of-them-are/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) [Explore all 503 Roxane Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) [Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have this cultural obsession with work and productivity as if we're better people if we don't stop and take some time for ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roxane Gay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-work-and-productivity-as-if-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-work-and-productivity-as-if-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/roxane-gay-520_ifs_we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-wor_836650.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have this cultural obsession with work and productivity as if we're better people if we don't stop and…” — Roxane Gay", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roxane Gay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have this cultural obsession with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-work-and-productivity-as-if-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/we-have-this-cultural-obsession-with-work-and-productivity-as-if-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```