R07: * The Right to Be Lazy: Dismantling the Capitalist Narrative of Relentless Work

This motion questions fundamental assumptions in our European values and their
deeply rooted link to capitalism. We aim, as FYEG, to denounce a culture of
exploitation and propose alternatives to such narratives.

We acknowledge that the prevailing capitalist work culture prioritizes
relentless economic growth over human well-being, driving individuals and
society to exhaustion rather than emancipation. It must be stated that while the
European Union boasts an overall employment rate of 75.8% for 2024, this
relentless pursuit of employment targets often ignores the degrading structural
quality of those jobs and the fundamental well-being of the populace. It is
deeply concerning that workers' rights across Europe have plummeted to their
worst level in at least a decade, with 54% of European countries now denying
workers basic access to justice, and 41% violating the fundamental right to
establish and join a trade union.

All political actors aligned with FYEG’s values must emphasize that the burden
of this capitalist system falls unevenly across demographics, evidenced by a
persistent 10.0 percentage point gender employment gap across the EU that widens
to 12.0 percentage points as workers age, and reaches severe extremes of 19.3
percentage points in countries like Italy.

Our values as Young Greens will always stand for social justice, feminism, and
intersectionality, recognizing that an economy driven by overproduction and
endless labor actively destroys both human well-being and the planet's
ecological balance.

The normalization of Burn-out, the commodification of self-help products, the
uberization of healthcare access, the decrease in national healthcare budgets,
the growing population turning to AI for healthcare advice: these are all
symptoms of a system that thrives on creating problems it can sell the solutions
to. Overwork must be the norm for this to function as intended.

The capitalist system thrives on a narrative that glorifies endless labor while
ignoring its structural harms. This framework benefits a select few property
owners while harming the broader public, who are pressured to dedicate their
lives entirely to productivity. Modern flexible working arrangements, rather
than freeing society, have increasingly given rise to widespread precariousness
and new inequalities. The historical demand for the "Right to Work" has
frequently been manipulated as a tool for continued capitalist exploitation
rather than human liberation.

While capitalism demands infinite productivity, it actively dismantles the
structures protecting workers. The European Commission is currently pushing a
dangerous deregulation drive that would strip away vital labor law protections
and undermine collective agreements for workers. The Inc. proposal is one of
many proposed EU changes that have worried the population who will live with the
consequences: in this case, the EESC Workers' group.

Concurrently, governments and employers are ruthlessly cracking down on labor
organizing, exacerbated by the rise of far-right political movements that
actively attack the right to strike.

Modern machinery and technological advancement possess boundless productive
power that should drastically reduce working hours for everyone. Instead of
utilizing automation to redeem society from the most arduous labor and grant
days of rest, capitalism forces workers into an absurd competition with
machines, leading to systemic overproduction and economic instability. This will
only grow as Furthermore, the system fails to utilize human potential
appropriately; currently, 21.4% of EU workers are over-qualified, trapped in
jobs beneath their educational and skill levels just to survive the demands of
the labor market.

FYEG will continue campaigning everywhere for a radical societal shift away from
the dogma of endless economic growth and labor. Our “We fight for joy” is
already part of this re-writing of capitalist narratives. More concretely, we
must argue for sweeping reductions in the standard working week without loss of
pay, striving toward the ultimate goal of drastically reduced work hours.

Member Organisations (MOs) must advocate nationally for the equitable rationing
of work to provide all citizens with the leisure necessary for true human and
civic development. We commit to sharing best practices across our network to
challenge the moralistic narrative that equates human worth solely with economic
productivity.

The Green political family should integrate demands for technological dividends
into their legislative programs. This can be detailed in sectors as each
machinery is specific to its area. We demand that the efficiencies gained
through automation be translated directly into increased leisure time for
workers, rather than exclusively generating more profits for the already wealthy
and increasing competition for the quantity of work demanded of workers.

FYEG calls upon the European Commission to abandon its deregulation agenda and
urgently bring forward a guarantee for quality jobs and improvement of workers’
lived experiences in Europe.

In concrete point and quoting Lucie Studničná, the current EESC workers’ group
president: “On the Quality Jobs Act, speakers highlighted the urgent need for
concrete and binding EU legislation to address gaps in worker protection,
including psychosocial risks, algorithmic management, subcontracting abuses and
the rise of precarious work affecting young people, women and third‑country
migrant workers. With geopolitical uncertainty fuelling distrust and populism,
they argued that Europe must reaffirm its social model through enforceable
standards and meaningful social dialogue.”

We urge our Member Organisations to collaborate with trade unions and organized
civil society to build national campaigns resisting the capitalist narrative of
relentless labor. We must replace it with the demand for the right to leisure,
prioritizing rest and well-being for all demographics. It is with national, and
local civil society that the FYEG’s most direct influence is necessary to change
narratives. We must understand and call out integrated capitalist norms at all
FYEG levels, to counter them with alternative that will prioritize the long term
quality of life for EU populations.

It is necessary for corporate lobbyists who currently influence conversations
about the use of technology to be clearly identified and called out. This can be
done through investigative journalism and FYEG Member Organizations amplifying
findings in their national or european platforms, but it can also be done if
more funding in the EU institutions’ budget is dedicated to accountability
regarding lobbyists’ influence.

We mandate the Green political family to champion these demands in all future
electoral platforms, ensuring accountability in the transition toward an economy
that leverages technological dividends to reduce working hours and protect the
social rights of all citizens.

Sources:

Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. (n.d.).
European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. European Commission.

European Commission. (2026, April, 22). 28th Regime – Why are alarm bells
ringing? https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/press-releases/28th-regime-
why-are-alarm-bells-ringing

European Trade Union Confederation. (2025, June 2). Workers’ rights in Europe at
‘worst level’ in a decade signals need for policy overhaul.

Eurostat. (n.d.). Employment - annual statistics. Statistics Explained.

Eurostat. (n.d.). EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC)
methodology - Intersections between sub-populations of Europe 2030 indicators on
poverty and social exclusion. Statistics Explained.

Eurostat. (n.d.). Living conditions in Europe - work intensity. Statistics
Explained.

International Trade Union Confederation. (2025). Global Rights Index 2025.

Lafargue, P. (2023). The right to be lazy and other writings (A. Andriesse,
Trans.). New York Review Books. (Original work published 1883).