Trends at work: More days off but longer working days

(Helsinki 23.02.2002 - Juhani Artto) Statistics Finland has conducted three thorough surveys into how the Finns use their time. A comparison between the results of these surveys illustrates how time use patterns changed in the 1980s and 1990s.

The averages in the six major categories appear to show that very little has changed. Broadly speaking, the average day has remained as follows:

- studying - one hour
- housework (cleaning, cooking, childcare etc.) - almost three hours
- gainful work - between three and half and four hours
- eating & personal hygiene - two hours
- leisure - almost six hours
- sleeping - about eight and half hours

This is how the Finns, aged 10 to 64 years, spent an average 24 hours in the late 1970s, in the late 1980s and in the late 1990s. These averages, however, conceal several important changes.

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