New project study by the BAT Leisure Research Institute

By 2010 at the latest, Germans will have 200 days off work per year. What will they do with this extra free time? A new study by the BAT Leisure Time Research Institute provides answers to this question.

Let's get straight to the point: Paradise on earth will not be waiting for us on the threshold of a new millennium. Prof Dr Horst W. Opaschowski, author of the BAT Institute project study, realistically predicts that a society of idlers will not take place. Even after the year 2000, working and being active will still be more desirable than idleness and doing nothing.

2010: more days off than working days

And yet this relatively short period of time is enough to change many things. The decisive factor is that leisure time will continue to increase. Assuming an increase in labour productivity of 2% and a reduction in working hours of 0.8 % per year between 1990 and 2010, 165 working days will then be offset by 200 days off. Compared to today, the ratio will be reversed in favour of leisure time. On the one hand, this will lead to problems such as boredom and loneliness. But on the other hand, there are also great opportunities: a new "leisure-work society" will emerge in which leisure is no longer defined as the opposite of work.

In addition to the actual work that serves to earn a living, we will voluntarily do things in our free time that are better described as work than as leisure activities. Not only will the do-it-yourselfer become a craftsman who perfects his hobby, but it will also become natural to take on social tasks and train in other professions on the side.

Education becomes a pleasurable leisure activity

According to Opaschowski, this is a consequence of the change in values that we are already experiencing and which is leading to a new sense of purpose. In addition to gainful employment, leisure work is becoming the second defining activity in life. However, this requires a "social re-evaluation of unpaid work".

Growing importance of leisure work

We will not derive social recognition solely from our professional work. Our status is also determined by the work we do in our free time, i.e. our extra-occupational interests, education and, in particular, our social commitment.

But after the year 2000, we will by no means devote our free time solely to leisure activities. We will make better use of the time we actually have available than we do today. We will socialise and socialise more, pay more attention to physical fitness and health, live more pleasure-oriented lives, laze around and be idle without feeling guilty, do more sport, pursue many hobbies and do more for our personal education. This refers above all to further education that cannot be utilised professionally, a trend that is already becoming apparent.

Economic situation for leisure professions

The new goals in life will give rise to a huge demand for services, the largest growth sector, which will also give rise to a wealth of new professions. The BAT study anticipates a boom for leisure professions of all kinds, but above all for inspirers and animators as idea stimulators and interest counsellors through to professions such as "listeners for lonely people".

Enjoyment of life as important as performance

In the midst of the ever-increasing external flood of contact, inner loneliness is also growing - interpersonal relationships are becoming increasingly fleeting and emotionally unsatisfying. Increasing leisure time is proving to be the real driving force behind the change in values. Fun and enjoyment of life are regarded as just as valuable as achievement and possessions; joie de vivre and openness are considered just as vital as diligence and a sense of duty. But the joie de vivre that people want cannot be learnt so quickly, not even by the year 2000.

Opaschowski comments: "The sooner we adapt to the coming leisure-work society, the easier it will be for us to give leisure the social recognition that work still officially enjoys. Polarisation is already outdated. We are already on the way to a more conscious and active life that we will be able to lead after the turn of the millennium - both at work and in our leisure time.