Essential Reading to Develop Big Quit Energy (updated April 2023)

Foundational “anti-work” books for recovering workaholics and work-humpers

Over the last year that BQE has been up, I’ve been reading works in what some would call the “antiwork” or at least the “rethink work” space.  I’m just thinking of these as canon reading for anyone trying to develop their own “Big Quit Energy.”

I’m excited to start sharing with you, more than reviews or summaries, a loose collection reactions and tangents that the works below have inspired.  I’ll be taking my sweet, leisurely time adding these, and as I do, I’ll link them here under the respective book.

In the meanwhile, whether you are trying to beat your own workaholism, are looking to more effectively set boundaries, want better zingers to fight back against work-humpers, or you’re simply curious about a different perspective of work, I highly recommend all books on this list.

And if there are any missing works here that you feel need to be on the BQE radar, please let me know!

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Where to start to reassure yourself that you’re not crazy for feeling this way

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

The first work I’d recommend.   A self-described “manifesto” by the founder of The Nap Ministry, Rest is Resistance explicitly ties rest to social justice and Black liberation.  But no matter your background, this book lays out a clear, powerful, and urgent argument for treating rest and leisure as divine rights.  It’s also extremely beautiful writing, with repetition and poetry that feel like a religious experience. Rest is Resistance works on the soul, lovingly undoing the tough knots of shame we carry.

Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr. Devon Price

While all the works on this list are great, it had been almost a decade since a book impacted me as much as this one did.  If you judge yourself and/or others harshly about work ethic, Dr. Price provides a well-researched and necessary reframe around the socially constructed concept we call “laziness.”   

Reactions:

I - Seriously, why DO we hate the homeless?

II- It’s good that we don’t work like our grandparents

In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell

I read this years ago, before even thinking about Big Quit Energy or antiwork.  A short and entertaining read, it makes for a great introductory refute to our work-humper society.  Bertrand Russell, by the way, is a gift—everything I’ve read by him helps me feel at peace. 

To better understand the shitbag games your employer plays on you

Work Won’t Love You Back by Sarah Jaffe

A fascinating history of a variety of industries, this book lays out the stories and assumptions that management/ownership in each one used to justify driving workers harder and for less pay—and how workers internalized and believed the propaganda wrapped in the notion of “love” and passion. 

Reactions:

I - They pay us to own us

II - “Achievement-brain” made my heart an appointment book

To better understand the shitbag games your own workaholic mind plays on you

The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

While it doesn’t really talk about work very directly, this accessible summary of the Adlerian school of psychology strikes me as a very solid psychological primer (and philosophical foundation) for anyone who knows they need to set more boundaries but feels guilty about it. 

Reactions:

I - “Horizontal” Relationships: building blocks for life beyond the current job tyranny

Workaholics:  The Respectable Addicts by Dr. Barbara Killinger

I’d be remiss if I didn’t read a professional perspective on workaholism as a mental condition.  This series of articles (also compiled in a book) by the late clinical psychologist Barbara Killinger breaks down how the field defines workaholism, the factors it has identified as feeding into it, and recovery and coping strategies. 

For encouragement and perspective as you seek alternate ways of living

The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd

Through chronicling his own transition from a “default path” career to a self-guided work life organized around play, Millerd’s book is a field guide to what you may encounter if you take the same step:  the inner anxieties and outer barriers, yes, but also the pleasant realizations that most fears around alternate work are overblown.  

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Works I haven’t read yet but will possibly add to this list (let me know any suggestions!)

Leisure: the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper

The Mythology of Work by CrimethInc

Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber

The Abolition of Work by Bob Black