Time Management
Hard workers away from familiesThe rat race is steadily devouring more time spent with family and western Canadians are the busiest bodies of all, states a Statistics Canada study. |
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 [ 2007-02-13 ] |
And Martin Turcotte, the researcher behind the study that shows, on average, Canadians spent 45 minutes more away from their families on work days in 2005 than they did two decades before, said the hope technology would free up time has been dashed.
“Obviously, in 1986, people were not spending much time on their computers,” said Turcotte, who admitted being surprised by the findings, given earlier research suggested Canadians were striving for more balanced lifestyles.
“They expressed the need to spend more time with family but I discovered it was declining.”
The biggest chunk of that time lost to family — 39% of it — was spent at work, states the report.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he said, western Canadians struggling to keep up with an economic boom were most stuck for time at home, said Turcotte.
“In the West overall, the average time spent with family declined more than in the eastern provinces,” he said.
He noted increasing minutes of that squandered time in Calgary was consumed by commutes that have outpaced other centres in growth.
But Turcotte said busy Canadian workers are also spending more solitary time eating and watching TV, accounting for more erosion of family time.
“TV watching is one of the most time-consuming activities and are people are more likely to watch it alone,” he said, adding more TVs per household now means less viewing together. That 45 minutes a day amounts to 195 fewer hours enjoyed with family based on a 260-day work year, states the study.
The average Canadian workday went from 8.4 hours in 1986 to 8.9 hours in 2005.
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