The Family and Free Time - Where Are We Happiest?

How do we feel about our work and free time? The panel above shows the results of a Gallup Survey included in the publication Attitudes About Work and Leisure In America.

Not too surprisingly, people seem to enjoy their time away from work. This is time spent with family and friends or playing sports and pursuing hobbies. Respondents in June 1955 had the most favorable attitudes about their employment: 39% claimed to enjoy their hours on the job more than their hours at home. By May 1999, a noticeable gap had formed: only 16% of people claimed to prefer their time at work; 77% preferred their free hours.

More of us clearly cherish our time away from the office. We read, surf the Internet, play a sport, take classes, and socialize with friends. Has there been a shift in our view of the office and home? How do we see each place? According to another survey, 48% of interviewees in 1975 felt that "work is the important thing — and the purpose of leisure time is to recharge people's batteries so they can do a better job." In 2000, only 34% of respondents gave that answer. In 1975, 36% agreed with the statement: "Leisure time is the important thing — and the purpose of work is to make it possible to have the leisure time to enjoy life and pursue one's interests." In 2000, 43% of people agreed with that statement.

We seem more inclined, these days; to draw a sharp line between our work and our leisure, but it is a slow transition — if indeed it is real. Technology such as cellular phones and e-mail, which should simplify our work lives, often keep us connected to the office. We feel the need to "check in" to see how things are doing in the midst of a vacation. Why? For many people, work is their life and identity, and it is hard to make a clean break. We are a long way from our counterparts in Europe who see vacation time as mandatory. There it is not uncommon for some companies simply to shut down for weeks or a month.

In the next few panels, we take a look at home life.

Source: Bowman, Karlyn. Attitudes About Work and Leisure in America. Online. Available: http://www.aei.org. September 28, 2001. Source includes several surveys. The question: "Generally speaking: which do you enjoy more - the hours when you are on the job, or when you are not on the job?" comes from a Gallup poll. The questions "Work is the important thing — and the purpose of leisure time is to recharge people's batteries so they can do a better job" and "Leisure time is the important thing — and the purpose of work is to make it possible to have the leisure time to enjoy life and pursue one's interests" come from a Roper Starch Worldwide poll.