We’re not as busy as we think
Using time-use data collected by the Center for Time-Use Research at the University of Oxford in the U.K., faculty associate John Robinson analyzed trends of how people have been spending their time over the past 50 years. The primary question of interest for Dr. Robinson, pertains to examining whether there is truth to modern day angst about feeling busier and working longer hours than before. In fact, time-diaries show that when both paid and unpaid work is aggregated, people in the developed world are no busier than they were in the 80’s.
While time-use has remained the same on average, wider research reveals some sub-group differences. For instance, the reallocation of time between paid and unpaid work has left men with slightly more leisure time than before, while women have no more leisure time than before, since their decrease in time for unpaid work seems to have been completely offset by time spent doing paid work. Well-educated professionals and single parents are among other groups who now spend more time doing paid and unpaid work than in the 60’s.