I read a pretty interesting commentary on Canadian culture, not sure if it's more widespread but it seemed pretty apt: "If you ask a Canadian how hard they're w

I read a pretty interesting commentary on Canadian culture, not sure if it's more widespread but it seemed pretty apt: "If you ask a Canadian how hard they're working, you'll get one of two responses: 'Hardly working', or a long complaint about how hard they're working. There seems to be no correlation between the answer you get and how hard the person actually works". I think Bill Gates (and Von Moltke before him) brought to public consciousness the value smart, lazy people bring to an organisation, and as a result, some people make a point of appearing lazy, either as a 'full disclosure' signal or to indicate the kind of role they aspire to.