The Continuing Struggle For Leisure Time

1. Introduction. The early phases of leisure studies, in the 1960s and 1970s, arose as a result of the achievements of generations of workers and reformers in Western industrial societies who had struggled to wrest free time from the industrial system. At the time, it was even believed by some that such societies might become ‘societies of leisure’. In the 1980s and 1990s, scholars such as Benjamin Hunnicutt and Juliet Schor informed the leisure studies community that this struggle appeared to have reached a stalemate. Working hours were no longer falling; in some cases, they were increasing. The response of leisure studies scholars was seemingly to lose interest in the topic of the relationship between work and leisure time and to turn their attention to the study of the experience of leisure activity at the micro-level, involving individuals and groups defined by such factors as gender, age and ethnicity. The result has been a tendency to focus on what Kenneth Roberts has referred to as ‘little leisure’, to the neglect of broader societal issues. Meanwhile, by the mid-1990s, other commentators were talking of a ‘time bind’ and ‘overwork’ on one hand and ‘the end of work’, ‘the jobless future’ and the ‘post-work society’ on the other. More recently, concerns raised about under-employment and the rise of the ‘precariat’. These issues have arisen partly as a result of recurrent economic crises, from the oil-price increases of the 1970s and 1980s to the 2008 financial crisis. They are also seen as partly the result of long-term structural tendencies such as globalization of labor markets, technological change and the growth in the power of capital relative to labor. In response, numerous groups have begun to renew the call for reductions in working hours together with, in some cases, reform of industrial relations regimes and the institution of a universal basic income. These groups include economists concerned about the long-term sustainability of the economic system and the impacts of automation; feminists concerned about the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work. In addition, environmentalists arguing that reduced working hours could slow the future rate of economic growth and therefore relieve pressures on the environment; and various activist groups concerned with aspects of the quality of life. It is notable, however, that leisure scholars have been largely absent from this movement. 2. Approach. The paper surveys the current state of the ‘struggle for leisure time’ drawing on some 30 sources calling for reductions in working hours published since 2000. 3. Conclusion. The paper argues the case for leisure scholars to resume their involvement with work/ leisure time issues.

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