MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1936. Our New-found Leisure

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 211, 7 September 1936, Page 6

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1936. Our New-found Leisure

The week-end just passed has provided our citizens with a unique experience as regards their shopping habits with the Friday late night and the noonday closing on Saturday. Many workers for the first time had two complete days at the weekend. There were gentlemen-of-leisure on Saturday morning who had been for years used to being on the job at that time. There was something of a carnival air about it all, but soon the novelty will be a thing of the past. The increase in leisure hours raises the question as to how those hours will be spent. Working forty hours a week for fifty weeks a year leaves a great deal of time free. Indeed, some remarkable figures emerge when the hours of the year are analysed. A year consists of 8742 hours. Work will occupy only 2000 of these, or 22.9 per cent, of the total time. Sleep at eight hours per night will occupy 2914 hours. Allowing two hours daily for toilet, meals and travelling to and from work, 730 more hours arc used up. These three primary and essential occupations ” take up a total of 5644 hours. f Those people who work the 40-hour week will have an aggregate leisure time of 3096 hours a year, or an average of just over 8£ hours daily. Their average working day over all the days of the year is only 5 hours 25 minutes. What potentially rich treasure lies in that vast amount of leisure. Free time! For what ? The people of this land are an energetic race. Just sitting in the sun has no great appeal. Leisure in the past has been devoted to sport. Hobbies, too, play a big part in the lives of many. Service in many and varied public and semi-public organisations occupies much time. Doubtless more time will be devoted to all these activities. Whether the race will be any the happier for devoting less time to actual work is a moot question. Certainly too much time can be spent at work; conversely, at some point there would be too little work. So much depends upon the way the leisure is used.