- Commuters are using the time to unplug in another travel trend. First there was “raw-dogging” on flights. Now, office workers are being called out for doing the same: staring into space for hours on end, or worse, making eye contact with fellow passengers on trains.
There’s nothing worse than commuters who opt out of checking their emails or reading a book in favor of doing absolutely nothing for the entire journey, sometimes staring awkwardly into the eyes of other passengers to pass the time.
That’s, at least, according to talent manager and podcaster Curtis Morton, who has coined a new name for people who engage in the idle activity: “barebackers.”
“You’ve commuted enough times. Why are you sitting there without a phone, without a book, just looking at me, looking at what’s going on?” the cohost of the Behind the Screens podcast said in a recent TikTok video that’s racked up 100,000 views and counting. “Just do something!”
The new trend shares similarities with another phenomenon on airplanes called “raw-dogging,” which attracted the attention of millions of Gen Zers last year.
Aside from having similar, double-entendre labels, they both essentially involve avoiding any form of entertainment while traveling. That means banning phones, books, or laptops and taking quiet time to think.
And with more workers being herded back to the office, experts warn the awkward, distraction-free commute—uncomfortable eye contact included—is set to increase. This could potentially unnerve fellow passengers.
‘A pushback against erosion of boundaries’
There are many reasons why you can expect to see more people on trains using the opportunity to “bareback,” but for starters, the sheer increase in commuters compared to the last five years means these awkward encounters are bound to become more common.
“We can expect to see an uptick in this trend as more professionals are required to head back into the office,” Amanda Augustine, a certified career coach at Resume.io, tells Fortune.
“The transition back to the office is a challenging period for many commuters, so it’s not surprising they are opting to use their commutes to mentally prepare for the day ahead or decompress after work, rather than mindlessly scroll through emails or social media.”
The average American spends 239 hours commuting yearly. Meanwhile Londoners waste 74 minutes stuck on trains every time they head to the office. And while some are using the time traveling to their desks to mentally switch off, others are using it as a way to quietly rebel against their bosses.
“Employees are expected to ‘clock in’ once they arrive at the office, not when they board the train,” Augustine says, adding that workers are therefore “reclaiming a small pocket of time” to do exactly what they want.
Even if having to commute again is beyond their control, they can opt to not check a single email until their official start time.
“It could certainly be a pushback against erosion of boundaries,” Eloise Skinner, an author and psychotherapist, echoes.
“Taking ownership of personal time, or drawing a clear boundary between working and nonworking time, could definitely be expressed by refusing to pick up work during commuting hours,” she adds. “In this way, employees may feel they are able to retain a sense of autonomy and control over their working schedule, especially since the commute forms a specific time around which to draw this boundary.”
But she explains that it could also be a pushback against “the sense of urgency to deliver” that comes with return-to-office mandates, mass layoffs, and bosses’ current focus on productivity.
“It’s less about passive-aggressively resisting RTO mandates and more about setting healthy boundaries, protecting their well-being, and finding ways to make the daily grind a little more manageable,” Augustine concludes.
Staring out of the window can reduce stress, screen time fatigue, and more
It’s not just the mental toll of navigating being back in an office and dealing once again with backstabbing, microaggressions, and team politics that’s creating this need to reset.
For the first time in years, people now have that time to kill between shutting their laptops and cooking dinner. While many workers are understandably angry about that fact, most of the experts Fortune spoke to agreed that it has resulted in much-needed transition time between work and personal life.
And for the most part, that’s a good thing. Unlike “raw-dogging” on flights, passengers on trains, subways, or buses who sit still for around an hour a day aren’t at risk of seriously dangerous side effects like thrombosis.
“Although it’s a strange sight to simply stare out of a window while traveling these days, it’s certainly a great favor to your mental health,” says Tamás Bokor, an associate professor at Corvinus University, adding that it’s actually “the best defense against information overload.”
He goes as far as to say that like sleeping, “wakeful idleness is a necessity for all humans” because the brain needs “time to reorganize and organize thoughts rather than receive new input.”
Others said that it can reduce stress and screen fatigue.
“Doing nothing can actually be the bigger boost to productivity than staying mentally switched on,” agrees Kussai El-Chichakli, a coach at the business university WU Executive Academy.
“What’s common knowledge in sports psychology—that intense focus periods require equally good mental downtime—still hasn’t fully landed in the business world.”
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However, in everything, balance is key. “If someone always checks out during their commute and never uses that time to plot out their day or connect with others, they could feel more scattered or fall behind at the office,” Augustine warns.
Ultimately, a constant need to detach from reality could signal deeper-rooted issues.
Perhaps the smartest way to use a mental break is to get curious about why you need one in the first place. Skinner suggests asking yourself: Why does this feel necessary? What about your workday (such as too much stress) makes you feel as though you need to completely shut off during your commute?
“This kind of self-analysis might give rise to some insight around whether the job is ultimately fulfilling or sustainable,” she adds.
How to unplug productively
Most of the experts Fortune spoke to pointed out that there’s a world of difference between productive boredom and just zoning out.
“The question is, Am I connected to the present moment, helping my mind recharge?” El-Chichakli stresses. “Or am I avoiding thoughts about work, which may actually cost me energy and hint to deeper, unresolved dynamics?
“The most important aspect is intentionality: If you know why you are doing what you’re doing (or not doing), your chances are high that you are using your time and energy more wisely,” he adds.
Likewise, Augustine encourages using that downtime to check in with yourself on what you truly need in that moment.
“Some days, giving yourself a true mental break is the best thing you can do,” she adds. “Other days, using that time to organize your inbox or mentally map out your schedule can make you feel better prepared to take on the day with purpose and calm.
“It’s about using that time intentionally to set yourself up for a better day—whether that means being productive or giving yourself permission to simply decompress.”
Besides, even if it looks like you’re doing nothing, your mind could still be quietly organizing, planning, or sparking fresh ideas.
In fact, Natasha Stanley, the head coach at career change experts Careershifters.org, says that after chipping away at to-do lists all day, “barebacking” your commute can be “a powerful part of the working day” because it leads to diffuse-mode thinking.
That is, she explains, when “new neural connections get formed between all kinds of concepts, functions, and areas of knowledge.” Essentially, letting your mind rest and absorb everything it’s seen in a day allows it to piece things together, ultimately sparking new ideas.
It’s why big picture thinking, she says, “thrives on distractions and happens when you allow your mind to drift and wander (like gazing out of the window on a train), making connections at random.”
If looking out the window and daydreaming isn’t your thing, Fortune asked CEOs how they make the most of their commuting time—from listening to audiobooks to doing brain yoga, here’s what they said.
