I embrace simplicity. The modern world has been designed in such a way that being busy is considered a badge of honor and we should be proud of our busyness. Being busy is a cult. And then there's the shadow work we all need to do behind the scenes like self-checkouts at supermarkets where we are not /paid/ to do that, but we do it anyway, along with many other examples I won't list out here.
Recently I've had a project at work which is just enjoying and engrossing, so I'm "choosing" to be busy with it at all hours at the expensive of other "good" habits. (Spending long hours "in the zone", if you will). I take the motivating and energizing peaks at work when I can get them.
I found this audio book enjoyable and accessible. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it does shed some interesting light on the "busy" epidemic we feel surrounded by.
https://www.audible.com/pd/Addicted-to-Busy-Audiobook/178753...
And I even personally prefer the social moment of a cashier to performing self-checkout.
But from the “simplicity” perspective, it’s actually pretty reasonable to tally and tender your own purchases. It’s the kind of simple practical task we probably benefit from making time for.
If someone were to help you, of course they should get paid, but it’s only a quirk of history that that’s been the default.
I have this opinion about cooking, or walking the dog. Self-checkout I see as a missed opportunity for social interaction (or maybe not, considering the amount of times an employee comes over to unblock the system :)
that doesn’t strike me as a good example. i’ll take unpaid checkout at the supermarket over hunting or growing food or making chocolate or making wine myself every single time.
And to be fair, I didn't get paid to stand in line and make small talk with whoever decided to talk to me, just to get to the cashier and wait while they cater to me. Shopping almost always involves an amount of unpaid work.