The Five Key Benefits of Leisure - Essay Example

Tourism: Leisure Concepts Outline the 5 key benefits of leisure. Do you think they are feasible to achieve in modern society? If so, how? If not, why not? Contents Contents 1 Introduction 1 Significance of leisure 2 Physical benefits 2 Economic benefits 3 Better Society benefits 4 Strengthens family bonding 5 Environmental benefit 5 The sustenance of leisure in the modern society 6 References 7 8 Introduction Leisure as a concept is one which has been an intrinsic part of the lives of all human beings, and most believe that it is essential to ensure that the well being of a person is truly established in the long term. Many scholars of sociology have focused upon the need for leisure in the life of men. In the context of this, Negugarten B.I, Havighust R.J. and Tobin,S.S (Negugarten. B.I, Havighust. R.J. and Tobin,S.S, 1961) have stated that in order to ensure that it is only with the adoption of the system of leisure in the lifestyle and environment of one’s life that one can achieve a stable existence. In fact he goes on to say to that through participating in leisurely experiences man can achieve social, environmental, physical, psychological and educational benefits in one’s existence. Significance of leisure These help ensure that the ill effects of tensions, pressures of society and work and other such strains are eased and an effective, healthy and sustainable lifestyle is established in the long term. It has been realized that the role of leisure is not one which is stable and constant in the lives of human beings, but it is one which keeps changing and evolving with the evolution of the environment of a person (Wankel, L. M., & Berger, B. G. 1991). In fact the famous idiom All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy is one which has been developed on the basis of this fact that the area of leisure is a necessity in the work space of one’s life to ensure that one is able to achieve social, psychological and physical well being. In the following paper there shall be a detailed discussion carried out on the significance of leisure, and try to establish the various sections of one’s life which benefit from it. This is important to study as a trend, as in the new millennium, it has been observed that it has become significant for all companies to adopt a system of leisure in their functioning to ensure the well being of their employees (Tinsley, H. E., & Tinslry, D. J. 1986). Physical benefits The first and the most significant benefit of a system of leisure being incorporated into the lives of human beings is that it results in longer and much healthier lives. The physical well being that is provided by the incorporation of leisure in one’s life is one of the most important benefits of leisure. The physical benefits of leisure are well known to mankind. The participation of human beings in the process of leisure helps ensure that they are able to reduce their stress levels, which helps them achieve greater amount of rest, allowing for greater amounts of physical relaxation (Marsh, H. W., & Peart, N. 1988). Usually, the leisure activities are such that they incorporate both the physical exercises as well as stress reliving techniques together, allowing for greater amount of physical well being. For example, when one participates in the leisurely activity of playing golf, it helps ensure that one is able to participate actively in a physical exercise which also helps the individual de stress and relax. These help ensure that the overall physical capabilities of the individual is improved, as it allows for better health benefits such as better cardiovascular benefits, and helps ensure that the overall cholesterol and hypertension that being faced by an individual is reduced (Mardia, K. V. 1985). It also helps ensure that the overall body mass, including bone mass and muscle mass is improved, helps in improving the spinal and neural system of a person and helps in increasing the lung capacity of an individual. Also the entertainment helps ensure that the individual relaxes and helps improve the overall psychological capabilities of an individual. It helps in the soothing the mind, reduction of the tensions of daily life and helps greater amount of stress free interactions. Thus the overall physical impact of leisure is very effective leading to a healthier and longer life (Mannell, R. C. 1989). Economic benefits Another significant benefit of the system of leisure on the lives of human beings is that it has a direct and effective system of economic benefits. The recreation industry is a huge industry in the economy today. In fact it has been observed as there have been many who have been able to develop and invest themselves in the industry, which has helped them, improve in their own stature economically (Iso-Ahola, S. E. 1980). Leisure is one of the most important contributors in the economy. It has been seen that with the emergence of the third world countries with the evolution of the economy in the global economy, leisure has taken a front seat and a number of countries are highly dependent on their leisure industry for sustainability in the current day scenario and foreign exchange earnings are also becoming involved in the process of leisure leading to greater development of the industry as a whole. Over the years there has been seen that with the coming of the ideology of sustainable development, the leisure industry has also evolved. In fact the leisure industry is developing almost to the size of the tourism industry, and it has been seen as people invest in areas such as cinemas, resorts and others, it leads to greater amount of economic investment opportunities, leading to greater economic benefits in any economy (Gay, L. R. 1992). Better Society benefits Another significant benefit that has been observed of the system of leisure is that it has had a direct impact on the social bonds and quality of living in the society. It was seen that under the work pressure people could no longer participate in the social and the artistic fields, due to which arts such as the theatre, galleries and music industry were suffering. But it has been observed that with the greater implementation of the system of leisure in the lives of people, there has been an improvement in the social workings, where the dying arts have been resurrected (Diener, E. Emmons, R. Larsn, J and Griffin, S. 1985). A greater number of people have started visiting the theatre, galleries, and others. Also a number of other individuals have also started investing their time in the areas of art and theatre which has led to the evolution of new artists and actors in the society. Thus, the overall social benefit of the leisure is high, as it has allowed for greater development of arts in the society helping ensure that the overall quality of the society is improved greatly. Strengthens family bonding Another significant importance of the system of leisure is that it has helped in the realization of stronger family ties and bonding. In fact, many social scientists have pointed out that earlier the overall pressure of the working system of the lives of the individuals was so high that it was having a direct and negative impact on the family lives of individuals due to the high stress levels, and greater pressures of work, it was observed that the overall interactions between family members reduced (Dattilo, J., & Murphy, W. D. 1991), and the family ties in society was observed to have weakened greatly. Yet, with the coming of the leisurely activity, families and friends today have started spending time together, leading to greater strengthening of the relationships between the families and the members of the society. This too has helped ensure that there is greater social interaction between the various members of the family and leading the establishment of a stronger and well coordinated system of family living in the society. Environmental benefit The last and perhaps the most important benefit of the leisure is that it has helped ensure that the environment is safeguarded and there is a greater amount of sustainable management of the environmental resources, although it does so in an indirect manner. Although in an indirect manner, leisure also contributes to the protection of the environment. The need to create recreational places compels people to look into maintaining a clean and green environment. This leads to the maintenance and protection of the environment from harmful elements. Be it our local park or the forest resorts that we enjoyed our holidays in, all these in their own little way contribute toward a greener environment (Bandura, A. 1977). Thus, leisure is essential not only to ensure a healthy body, an active mind, and strong relationships; but in its own way, it also contributes to a better economy and a better environment. The sustenance of leisure in the modern society Many social scholars are of the belief that the role of leisure in the society today is reducing, as there is being experienced a greater amount of pressure from the working sector, where the competition in the market is leading to greater amount of strain in the lives of the people. In fact many of the health reports reflect that greater numbers of people are suffering from the problems of hypertension (Bandura, A. 1977). In fact it is believed that the modern day society has become so alienating and demanding due to the global competition, that the system of leisure cannot be effectively implemented in the society. But there has to realized that the role of the leisure is gaining more and more significance today. In fact many of the MNCs are today realizing that the most important method through which the overall performance of the human resource base can be improved is through ensuring that the system of leisure is incorporated into the system of functioning in the industry. There has in fact been developed the theory of motivation based in the theory of leisure, which points out to the fact that an individual who is given recreational time is more productive than an individual who is stressed and is facing a lot of work pressure and is dissatisfied with their work.   As Herzberg said there need to be motivators. The hygiene was the monetary incentives, healthy working environment, infrastructural facilities, recreational facilities like cafeteria, etc. The theories propounded by these men and others have proved that by providing the right incentives for the employees one can increase their productivity and creativity, and the vive-versa also holds true. There is also the moral obligation to treat ones employees with respect and to assure to them their human rights. Motivation helps the employee to travel the distance and realize his or her full capacity and capability and improve their abilities (Ajzen, I. 1991). Thus it can be concluded that the role of the system of leisure is one which is not only present but also required in the modern day society, and this is easily reflected in the fact that more and more recreational facilities are coming up and the industry is flourishing. More and more MNCs are adopting the system, and it is seen that almost all modern day families invest in leisure activities to ensure sustainable growth and development in their personal as well as in their professional lives. References Ajzen, I. 1991.Benefits of leisure: A social psychological perspective. In B. L. Driver, P. J. Brown, & G. L. Perterson (Eds). Benefits of Leisure. State College, PA: Venture Publishing. Bandura, A. 1977. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychologist Review, 84(2), 191-215. Dattilo, J., & Murphy, W. D. 1991. Leisure education program planning: A systematic approach. State College, PA：Venture Publishing. Diener, E. Emmons, R. Larsn, J and Griffin, S. 1985. The Satisfaction With Life Scale, Journal of Personality Assessment, 4(1),71-75. Gay, L. R. 1992. Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application. Columbus: Merrill Pub. Iso-Ahola, S. E. 1980. The social psychology of leisure and recreation. Dubuque, Iowa：William Brown Publisher. Mannell, R. C. 1989. Leisure satisfaction. In E. L. Jackson, & T. L. Burton (Eds), Understanding leisure and recreation: Mapping the past, charting the future. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, 281-301. Mardia, K. V. 1985. Mardia’s Test of Multinormality. In S. Kotz & N. L. Jonson (Eds). Encyclopedia of Statistical Science. New York: Wiley, 5, 217-221. Marsh, H. W., & Peart, N. 1988. 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