Leisure Patterns Among Four-Day Workers

The four-day work week and other forms of rearranged and flexible schedules change the flow and pattern of a person's work and leisure. This reshaping of the experience of leisure time was investigated for people who are currently working on a four-day, forty hour schedule by asking them how they used their time. Five dimensions of leisure time usage emerged from a factor-analytic technique and were analyzed to determine how individual differences impacted on perceptions of leisure time. Several patterns were found, including:Males and people with incomes above the median used more of their time for "self development."Single persons and people aged 18–23 were higher on the "need for activity" factor and lower on the "active at home" factor.People who responded that they were "more tired with a longer workday" used less time on the "active at home" and "away from home" factors, but not on the "home-centered relaxation" factor as predicted.