A New Look at the New Leisure

The problem of leisure is usually stated in terms of there being too much time and not enough use made of it. Looking at time as a commodity one can see that the increase in the amount of nonwork time does not necessarily mean an increase in time usable for leisure. Results from a study of the activities and time perspectives of rotating shift workers are used to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach. Paradoxically, technological advance may have simultaneously produced an increase in nonwork time and a decrease in its usefulness as a commodity. Administrators may be able to alleviate this condition. Edwin Blakelock is an assistant study director, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.'