Project Lazy
This project combines philosophical analysis and moral psychological research with insights from other disciplines and the experiences of people affected by laziness judgments.
Why laziness judgments matter
Judgments about laziness are not only common — they are also powerful. Calling someone ‘lazy’ can suggest a personal failure (“you’re wasting your life”) or a moral failure (“you’re not doing your fair share”). Once the label is applied, it can affect how people are treated — and whether they receive recognition, support, or blame. It can also shape how people see themselves.
But what if one of the most powerful words in our language is used without a clear understanding of what it means? And what if some of our judgments about laziness rest on mistaken assumptions?
Have we wrongly assigned blame to ourselves or others? Have we fuelled, without good reason, guilt, burnout, and social division?
Project Lazy explores these questions by examining what we mean by ‘lazy’ and by reflecting on social norms that shape our thinking about laziness. It is an open and evolving research initiative, and we invite everyone to contribute their insights and experiences as the project develops.
Links
For further information, and to get involved, please visit the Project Lazy website.
Links to media articles and blog posts can be found on the Reframing Laziness: Voices of Lived Experience project page (funded by the University of Oxford's PCER Fund, 23 Feb 2025-30 June 2025).
Featured blog posts & podcasts
Blog: Why being ‘lazy’ at work might actually be a good thing, The Conversation (1 April 2025).
With 61,663 reads since 1 April 2025, this post is in the top 10 of 2025's most read The Conversation articles by University of Oxford authors.
Podcast: Why we need to rethink our ideas about laziness - Instant Genius | Podcast on Spotify (13 September 2026)
Often in life, we find ourselves being accused of being lazy or accusing others of acting lazily, or maybe even becoming frustrated by what we see as laziness in our own actions. But what do we really mean by the term laziness, why is it viewed as a taboo that transcends cultures, and what effect does considering ourselves or others lazy have on our mental health? In this episode, we’re joined by Prof Katrien Devolder, an ethicist based at the University of Oxford and research leader of Project Lazy. She tells us about the different ways we view laziness in ourselves and others, why working smarter and more efficiently is often misconstrued as laziness, and the impact AI is having on our views of laziness.
