The new rawdogging? Workers are ‘barebacking’ on their way to the office — and fellow commuters are furious

Is doing absolutely nothing the hot new trend among Gen Z workers?

The “rawdogging” phenomenon has apparently gone underground, with subway-riding young professionals raising eyebrows over an eerie new practice where they stare at their fellow commuters instead of perusing their phones — an alleged form of rebellion against return to office policies.

Curiously dubbed “barebacking,” the NSFW-sounding practice involves forgoing all tech and either gazing into space or — even worse — making repeated, awkward eye contact with other passengers like some kind of subterranean serial killer, Fortune reported.

Podcaster Curtis Morton, who coined the term, recently ripped into commuters who ride bareback in TikTok video with 100,000 views.

“You’ve commuted enough times,” the Brit, who cohosts the “Behind The Screens” podcast, ranted in the clip. “Why are you sitting there without a phone, without a book, just looking at me, looking at what’s going on? Just do something!”

Barebacking, which experts feel has been on the rise with commuters returning to the subway post-pandemic, is essentially the terrestrial equivalent of the similarly NSFW-sounding rawdogging. The popular Gen Z pastime involves abstaining from in-flight entertainment, including movies and movies, as well as avoiding necessities such as food, water and sleep — like an ascetic in the sky.

Much like “masterdating” or “girl dinners,” this performative-sounding practice might seem like another case of zoomers “inventing” fads that already existed — in this case, riding the subway before 2010.

However, experts believe that the uptick in “barebacking” could be, among other things, a form of rebellion against demanding bosses and return-to-office mandates in wake of the pandemic.

“Employees are expected to ‘clock in’ once they arrive at the office, not when they board the train,” Amanda Augustine, a certified career coach at Resume.io, told Fortune, adding that spacing out on the subway allows them to reclaim valuable me time.

This subway-cation allows them to forgo checking emails until the moment they clock in.

“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,” seconded psychotherapist Eloise Skinner.

However, she also feels this could be a form of pushback against the increased emphasis on productivity following the post-COVID return-to-office mandates and mass layoffs.

But Augustine argued that barebacking could simply be a way to detox ahead of a busy day at the office, where employees will likely be glued to screens for hours on end.

“The transition back to the office is a challenging period for many commuters,” she said. “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.”

And, unlike with rawdogging — which has been associated with dehydration, blood clots and even death due to sustained periods of sitting motionless without water — remaining still for the 40-minute subway ride can conversely benefit people’s health.

“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,” said Tamás Bokor, an associate professor at Corvinus University in Budapest, Hungary.

He deemed “wakeful idleness” the “best defense against information overload” because it provides “time to reorganize and organize thoughts rather than receive new input.”

Indeed, barebacking offers a welcome respite from social media, which has been proven detrimental to people’s mental health.

An August poll of 2,000 Gen Z social media users found that nearly half of Zoomers suffer from either anxiety or depression — and that these bad feelings begin within 38 minutes of scrolling.

Respondents attributed these negative emotions to consuming upsetting content, feeling unproductive with how they spent their time and/or experiencing FOMO.

Of course, barebackers should practice moderation even when doing absolutely nothing. “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,” cautioned Augustine.

Other experts advised to make sure that their barebacking skews more towards a mental reset rather than simply trying to block out pressing issues.

“The question is, Am I connected to the present moment, helping my mind recharge?” said Kussai El-Chichakli, a coach at the business university WU Executive Academy in Vienna, Austria.“Or am I avoiding thoughts about work, which may actually cost me energy and hint to deeper, unresolved dynamics?