Relationship between Leisure and Work - Coursework Example

LEISURE CONCEPT Name Course Instructor’s name Institution Date LEISURE CONCEPT “Without work, there can be no leisure”. Discuss this statement Over the years work and leisure have been portrayed as two issues in the workforce which supplement each other. In this case, a close relationship has been drawn between work and leisure. However, work and leisure are perceived differently depending on the society and culture. Despite work and leisure taking different societal stands these societies all agree that there is a close relationship between leisure and work. Work, therefore, is an activity carried out to meet something or an obligation whereas Leisure is portrayed as the opposite of work. It is a down time where one takes time off from work in order to relax and reenergize. The relationship between leisure and work dates back in the Mesopotamia era when civilisation started to take shape where most of the work being carried out was manual therefore leisure became an issue that started being observed keenly. This paper, therefore, seeks to review the relationship between leisure and work while justifying the saying; without work, there can be no leisure. Leisure is a state of mind where one's is either inactive, or it has switched from the common schedule or rhythm of life. Thus, Leisure is characterised by willing optimism and unobligated time. On the other hand, leisure is also related to a mindset that embraces productive coexistence with one’s environment and people around a person. Leisure is considered as a healthy complement of work which ensures that an individual obtains a balanced life. Consequently, it is an essential issue which should be considered by individuals frequently in their line of work. Zuzanek, (2016 pp.1-10) argues that Leisure is a block of time which is unoccupied or spare time at one's disposal where one is free. In our current society and the lifestyle that we have adopted, leisure is an issue that appears to be almost compulsory in an individual’s life. Hence, leisure is discretionary time that we use according to our own judgement to turn off from our usual daily work schedule. However, leisure time can only be taken up if the disciplines of work, basic needs and sleep have been met. This is why leisure is associated with work in that after achieving work goals, utmost relaxation and reenergizing of the body is needed. Due to the increasing relevance of leisure in our current society, it is increasingly being perceived as a state of mind, quality of experience or an attitude of the mind (Villumsen et al., 2017 pp.273-280). Leisure is also seen as a form of freedom that forms the conditions in life which are fostered by necessity. On the other hand, leisure is also perceived to be intrinsically motivated and also bearing a great deal of pleasure. Similarly, it consists of a number of activities which ensure that individuals are spoilt for choice in case they intend to choose one. Leisure, in this case, fosters individual’s spontaneous social life and also broadens their knowledge while also ensuring that they keep fit through participating in physical exercises as leisure activities hence offering a much needed break from any form of work. On the other hand, work is an activity that requires a substantial amount of effort, time and focus. Work, in this case, is any task carried out to its completion. Looking closer at all aspects of a human life, it is noted that they revolve around work. From our childhood we are taught that in order for us to get or accomplish something we should work. This notion, later on, grows in us to an extent that in our adulthood work becomes part of our daily routine. We see individuals investing a lot of money in education in order to obtain the skills and knowledge for purposes of securing employment and working. In fact, most individual’s daily routines are built around work (Stebbins, 2013 pp.339-345). Despite work appearing as only a channel where one earns a living work is not entirely all about the money. Work also draws some aspect of satisfaction where one like to spend a huge part of their day doing something that they are not only good at but also have some passion in and this calls for leisure. In most cases sabbaticals exist to offer people breaks from their daily routines, these leaves or sabbaticals give people the opportunity to travel to various leisure destinations like the Cayman islands, Las Vegas, Miami, Puerto rico and many more Jewish and Christian religions revelation of work is depicted as a moral responsibility that every individual should carry out. The Jewish and Christian religion portrays work as a way for the individuals to earn a living whereas idleness is portrayed as a root cause of evil and also a weakness. Through the religious doctrine work is also portrayed as a channel that guarantees one individual’s independence. Our society also portrays that work is not only a way for an individual earning a living it is also a way where one can achieve fulfilment and also put his or her talent to use. In this case, the society, therefore, encourages all the members to contribute toward the society through working and taking time to rest when applicable (Hilbrecht, 2007 pp.368-390). A research project was developed in the year 2005 seek to find the meaning of work in five distinct dimensions. In this case, this research set out to seek the meaning of work in economic orientation, work centrality, interpersonal relations, intrinsic orientation, obligation norm and, entitlement norm. This research was carried out in eight distinct countries; U.S.A, Japan, Belgium, West Germany, Netherlands and Britain, which contributed to the conclusiveness of the research. The Jews and Christians also draw their perception of work from God; in this case, the perception that work is good is borrowed from Gods acknowledgement that all his creation work was good. For the current society’s perception, these perceptions are draws from Martin Luther claim on work. Where he claims that through work individuals are pursuing their calling while also enhancing their spiritual dignity. On the other hand, his claim that through work individuals serve God have also led to the current societal importance of work especially to the Christian and believers (Henwood, Tuckett and Turner, 2012 pp.1746-1754).The close relation between work and leisure is revealed through occupation devotion. This is the positive attachment of an individual’s form of work. In this case, the line between work and leisure is virtually erased if the endowment of a particular task brings about an intense urge for leisure time which at the same time is quite fulfilling. Leisure time, in this case, is a distinct condition that attracts people to their work. Therefore, the profoundness of leisure time relates to work since it actually results from an individual working. The other correlation of leisure and work in the context of work devotion is evident in the nature of an individual’s commitment to work. In this case, Leisure is the nature of an individual’s commitment to work. Work devotion is categorised in four distinct social contexts; work leisure, history and religion. Therefore work and leisure, in this case, relate having that they are in the same social context under work devotion. Additionally, work and leisure is also evident through mutually antagonistic spheres of life (Hamilton-Smith, 2012 pp.243-256). Due to the close relationship between leisure and work, work satisfaction is fostered. Moreover, balanced levels of both leisure and work in individuals are likely to bring about a feeling of satisfaction in that their talent and abilities are put to good use. Leisure being a shared motivational factor for work brings about a clear picture on the interdependence nature between the two. Thus, leisure is part of the work attributes which individuals long for when they are engrossed in intense work activities. Leisure provides an opportunity for workers to takes much-needed breaks making it a shared motivation factor for these workers. This has led to labour orientation becoming highly valued and leisure time becoming increasingly relevant in our current society. This is attributed to the nature of work today which has become increasingly tiresome leading to poor productivity whereas the time allocated for leisure time has also been drastically reduced. In this case, workers often long for the limited allocated time for leisure time so as to take breaks from tiresome shifts (Dart, 2006 pp.313-328). In line with this a study of the working class individuals working for a standard 40 hours a week wish that they would work for fewer hours and have more hours for their leisure time. One relatively relating perspective that brings out a correlation between leisure and work is that on the current growing importance of work. Therefore, it is evident that in some cases work spills over into leisure time due to the current increased amount of work. Consequently, leisure time is commonly used as time to compensate for the shortcomings of work in context on unmet deadlines hence leisure has become a subordinate to work. On the other hand, leisure time is also overshadowed by relating concepts of work for instance, work ethics and hard work (Chamberlain, 2013 pp.127-138). Often, individuals claim not to take up leisure as a result of their desire to work hard towards the attainment of their set goals which range from promotions to meeting stipulated deadlines. Leisure and work in this context also shows a correlation where there is no any regularity between leisure and work. However this perception varies depending on different subgroups among various people. Similarly, a relationship exists between leisure and work in the differences that exist among those that are working. In this case, these individuals are categorized in two categories the work oriented and the leisure oriented individuals (Henwood, Tuckett and Turner, 2012 pp.1746-1754). These are individuals who consider work to be a central aspect of their life and also an entitlement norm whereas the leisure oriented people are those who strive to strike a balance between work and leisure. Moreover, it was noted that the individuals who value work more over leisure are those who have the perception that they should work for the sole purpose of money. Similarly, those who values work have the perception that they work to fulfill their occupational security needs. On the contrary, some examples seem to refute these arguments by claiming that there is not distinct relationship between work and leisure. Leisure is claimed to be one of the bottom ranked motivating factors in work. This analogy therefore refutes any existing relationship between leisure and work having that it argues that the chances of leisure being a motivating factor for work are very slim contrary to what was portrayed earlier. On the other hand, the fact that leisure is currently becoming irrelevant due to the current societal norms and extent of work the relationship between leisure and work can be said to be diminishing in reference to the number of people concerned with leisure in the workplace (Stebbins, 2013 pp.339-345). People now prefer working over time during their leisure time in order to be able to earn extra wages to help them meet their bills and expenses. Therefore, leisure has continued to become irrelevant which has consequentially led to the relationship between leisure and work to diminish. In conclusion, I tend to think that there is a clear relationship between leisure and work despite the raised claims that it is currently diminishing due to the irrelevancy of leisure. Leisure is still an essential motivating factor in work. This can be argued that our human bodies are always bound to get tired while we work. Thus, we will eventually need leisure in order to rest and reenergize. However, there is also some truth in the claim that leisure time is increasingly becoming irrelevant but on the other hand I think that in this case individuals have reduced the amount of leisure hours or days they take. Therefore these individuals still take leisure, only that now they take less leisure hours or days. Words: 2006 References Chamberlain, J. 2013. Adolescent perceptions of work and leisure. Leisure Studies, 22, pp.127-138. Dart, J. 2006. Home‐based Work and Leisure Spaces: Settee or Work‐Station?. Leisure Studies, 253, pp.313-328. Hamilton-Smith, E. 2012. Work, leisure and optimal experience. Leisure Studies, 113, pp.243-256. Henwood, T., Tuckett, A. and Turner, C. 2012. What makes a healthier nurse, workplace or leisure physical activity? Informed by the Australian and New Zealand e-Cohort Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2111-12, pp.1746-1754. Hilbrecht, M. 2007. Changing Perspectives on the Work–Leisure Relationship. Annals of Leisure Research, 103-4, pp.368-390. Stebbins, R. 2013. Unpaid work of love: defining the work–leisure axis of volunteering. Leisure Studies, 323, pp.339-345. Villumsen, M., Madeleine, P., Jørgensen, M., Holtermann, A. and Samani, A. 2017. The variability of the trunk forward bending in standing activities during work vs. leisure time. Applied Ergonomics, 58, pp.273-280. Zuzanek, J. 2016. Work and leisure in Thomas More’sUtopia. Leisure Studies, pp.1-10. Read More