A recent advisory report from the Council for Public Health & Society (RVS) shows that we live in a “hyper-nervous society,” in which performance pressure, acceleration, and individualism have gone too far. This situation leads to increasing mental pressure on citizens, as well as on employees. For vocational experts, HR professionals, and others in the field of health and labor, it is time to reflect on the meaning and impact of ‘idle time’ on the shop floor and within the organization.
Mental pressure and social consequences
The RVS warns that more and more people are dropping out with burnout symptoms or struggling with psychological complaints. The costs to society amount to approximately 18 billion euros per year. According to the report, “we live in a ‘hyper-nervous society'” where the expectation to perform better and faster is everywhere.
The current approach — focused on the individual through mindfulness, training, and self-help — is, according to the RVS, “mopping with the tap running.” This means that the focus must shift more strongly from individual interventions to structural measures at the team, organizational, and systemic levels.
The significance of idle time for labor practice
Idle time — moments when nothing is required — is proposed by the Council as a counterweight to high work pressure. In the work environment, this could mean: reduced administrative burden, explicit break times, calm in communication protocols (e.g., no expectation of an immediate response outside of working hours), or establishing the ‘right to be disconnected.’
For HR and vocational experts, this presents a challenge: how do you structure work processes and culture so that employees experience breathing room? And how do you anchor measures in such a way that they are not perceived as extra pressure, but as a necessary foundation for sustainable employability?
Steps toward implementation
- Recalibrate organizational culture: discuss with managers which standards of speed and availability are realistic.
- Allocate time: consciously build in ‘idle time’ — for example, through calendar blocks or moments of silence.
- Establish policy: formalize the right to be unreachable outside of working hours or minimize administrative distractions.
- Monitoring and evaluation: measure employee satisfaction, burnout indicators, and absenteeism before and after implementation.
With this step toward ‘more rest,’ an initial contribution can be made to a more relaxed working environment, where people experience breathing room again and maintain their health.
