Leisure and Entertainment in the Early Twentieth Century - Essay Example

Leisure People need to spend time away from their daily activities to relax. This paper eluci s how our experience of leisure has changed since 19th and 20th centuries. Subsequently, this paper outlines the extent to which I agree with the explanation postulated by the editors of The Economist in their article Nice Work If You Can Get Out: Why the Rich Now Have Less Leisure Than the Poor. Our experience to leisure has significantly changed over the recent past. The article posits that the number of weekly hours spent working was a measure of individual economic status in the 19th century.

Additionally, individuals with low economic status worked for more hours as compared to individuals with a higher economic status. In 1965, individuals with a college education and a high level of income spent more hours relaxing as compared to individuals with only a high school education. This trend changed towards the end of the twentieth century. According to the Economist "By 2005, the college-educated had eight hours less of it a week than the high-school grads". This postulation is supported by a methodical investigation conducted by the American Time Use Survey that proved that individuals with atleast college education in the US spend an additional two hours daily in their work stations as compared to those with high school education.

This change has been contributed by a number of reasons. Educated individuals have been earning more today as compared to what they earned three decades ago. Therefore, these individuals tend to lose more money when vacationing as compared to what they could lose in the twentieth century. In todays job market, income is dependent on input in terms of working hours. Through my observation of others, it is worth positing that the advancement of technology has led to significant changes in peoples experiences of leisure.

Enjoying oneself today does not necessarily mean going for a vacation anymore. People prefer watching a movie at home with friends and family during weekends rather than vacationing far away from home. In my opinion, this explanation of the shift is valid. Well learned individuals tend to have a higher level of income. Subsequently, these individuals are also in management positions and hence they are given supervisory roles in organizations. This means that they must spend extra hours in the office going through all reports from every department as they are accountable for every activity within organizations.

This translates to spending less time relaxing. Conditions in the workplace have also changed over the recent past. Workplaces are more enjoyable nowadays as compared to the last centuries hence people spend more time in their offices. It is common to find a canteen within an organization where employees spend time relaxing and socializing with colleagues and this helps improve communication and motivation in the workplaces. Employees n such organizations would rather spend time in the office as it is more fun.

It is also worth noting market conditions have changed over the recent past. Businesses today require more attention as a result of the unstable conditions of the contemporary market. Through my observation of others, people spend more time working as they consider vacationing a wastage of resources. The working class today comprises of young individuals who need additional cash to finance their expensive lifestyles. Therefore, they prefer to work to extra hours to earn that extra coin rather that wasting their time and money vacationing.

In a nutshell, high income levels makes vacationing or spending time relaxing more costly. The higher the input in terms of working hours translates to better pay. These changing dynamics of the job market has made it difficult for people to spend time relaxing as compared to few decades ago. Works cited"Nice work if you can get out: Why the rich now have less leisure than the poor." Economist. Economist, 19 April. 2014. Web. 29 April. 2014.