“Living for the weekend” has become a nightmare obligation for Generation Z

YoIt’s 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I’m already three mimosas into bottomless brunch. Groups of girls surround me as we sip our assigned beverage and gorge ourselves on disgustingly undercooked pizza. I head to the bathroom for some private time and silently think: Can I really keep this up? I’m “living the weekend” too intensely. I have rooftop drinks tonight. And a Beyoncé-themed spin class tomorrow. Followed by a supposed “sexy girl art night” hosted by my friend, which I’ll inevitably have to drag myself to. But the truth is, I’m not enjoying any of this.

As adulthood has rapidly unfolded and the nine-to-five schedule takes up the majority of my waking hours, I have succumbed to the pressure to overindulge on the weekends. Think of it as an attempt to compensate for the monotony of my weekly routine, which consists of eat, sleep, work, and repeat.

I bet I’m not the only one. “Live for the weekend culture” is becoming a bit of a turn-on lately, and we probably have social media to thank for it. My Instagram feed is littered with thousands of videos with titles like: “10 Healthy Dates With Friends To Try In London This Weekend,” “Three Ways To Live Your Summer With Hot Girls,” and “This Is Your Cue To Go To A Alcohol-Infused Ceramic Painting Party.” In the past, I would watch these videos and feel guilty if my weekends weren’t all that memorable, even if I wasn’t enamored by the prospect of painting ceramics while slightly drunk. The problem is, especially us Gen Z social media natives and millennials, are told that our weekends should be a certain way. And I found it hard to resist.

In an attempt to regain control of my free time, I recently started enforcing a do-nothing day on Sundays. That's when I do whatever I want. I know it's nothing revolutionary, but for people who spend their weekends at all costs, it's hard to accept an empty day on the calendar.

Ishita Uppadhayay, a 23-year-old poet and politician from London, tells me that she finds it difficult to stay at home and do absolutely nothing at weekends. “When I moved to London from India, where I’m from, I had this feeling that I needed to make the most of weekends in London,” she says. “There are people who would kill to live here. Some people base their entire personality on moving to London – it has a mythical, cult status, like New York. And there’s so much going on.” She worries that if she doesn’t make the most of the city, or if she’s not grateful enough to live in a city so rich in art and culture, then it will somehow be a waste.

Uppadhayay tells me that she is always on the lookout for her colleagues who are settling down and leaving London to put down roots in more affordable places. She feels that they have little time left together in the city. “Part of the pressure is that no one is going to be in London forever, and I want to take advantage of all these things while I live here,” she sighs. “I often have to combine attending events with time for my partner and close friends. So many different things add up.”

For other people, and even those who aren't members of Gen Z, there's a particular pressure to share aesthetically pleasing snippets of their weekends online. Lucy Baker, owner of the blog Geriatric MomShe found herself spending her weekends dominated by the prospect of showing off her fun times with her three children on social media. On days she went out, she would put on extra makeup to be ready for any photo opportunity. Over time, this obligation began to tire her out. “I was sick of saying ‘kids, stop, photo!’ or posting pictures of my dog, or putting makeup on my face in case I wanted to post a selfie.” Now that she’s deleted Instagram from her phone entirely, she’s started to feel more present during the week and on weekends. “I no longer waste hours looking at other people’s lives, which is quite boring when you think about it – they’re edited versions of life and not real at all.”

There’s a broader problem here, too. Most of us find it physically impossible to do everything in a strict 48-hour schedule that is both satisfying and productive. And that’s because our ratio of work to rest and leisure is “way off,” according to psychology researcher Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe. She says it can be detrimental to overindulge on weekends because we don’t leave ourselves time to relax. “Most of the population works too much and doesn’t get enough rest,” she says, explaining that on average, 70 percent of our waking hours are spent working. “If we try to do everything on our weekends to line our pockets so we can have an identity outside of work, we don’t have time to recover.” She tells me about “protest behavior,” which, in this context, involves cramming on weekends to try to make up time. “Protest behavior can also be staying up really late on a weekday to get time to yourself, because so many of us give too much to our employers.”

There is a risk of going into autopilot mode if we don’t have rest days. “Some people can become addicted to the stress cycle, which is that they feel like they’re always on the go and they don’t really know how to relax,” says Hanley-Dafoe. She notes that if we don’t make space in our calendars for self-reflection, we can lose the ability to control our real emotions.

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This could be why so many people support the four-day workweek campaign. In a study published earlier this year, which tested the working pattern across 61 companies, participants reported feeling less stressed and more positive about work. Unnecessary meetings were removed from schedules and people noticed their productivity increased. But, more importantly, participants reported an improvement in their personal lives. “I can now spend one day a week with my daughter,” said one anonymous worker. “This made the transition back to work after maternity leave much easier. It has also saved us childcare costs.” And then there’s the reduced burnout and more time to have real fun on your own terms.

While it doesn’t look like a four-day week will happen anytime soon, I’m starting to find a healthier balance between work and play. I started leaving days blank on my calendar and not getting dragged into any events that fell into the “organized fun” category. I now use my weeknights more wisely, devoting them to meaningful socializing and exercise, and leaving weekends free for spontaneity. Now, every Saturday morning, I breathe a sigh of relief when I see my calendar empty. There’s no bottomless brunch in sight.