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Leisure
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"Free time" redirects here. For other uses, see Free time (disambiguation).
This article is about the state of being. For the album by Blur, see Leisure (album). For the
poem by W. H. Davies, see Leisure (poem).
Public parks were initially set aside for recreation and leisure.
Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It
is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities
such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing
homework, household chores, and day-to-day stress. The distinction between leisure and
compulsory activities is loosely applied, i.e. people sometimes do work-oriented tasks for
pleasure as well as for long-term utility.[1] Distinction may also arise between free time and
leisure. For example, criticism of consumer capitalism by the Situationist International
maintains that free time is illusory and rarely free and instead, economic and social forces
appropriate it from the individual and sell it back to him as a commodity in the form of
leisure.[2] Leisure studies is the academic discipline concerned with the study and analysis of
leisure.
History
Detail from Rest (1896). Charles Sprague Pearce, Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson
Building, Washington, D.C.
The word leisure comes from the Latin word licere, meaning "to be permitted" or "to be
free", via Old French leisir, and first appeared in the early fourteenth century.[3] The notions
of leisure and leisure time are thought to have emerged in Victorian Britain in the late
nineteenth century, late in the Industrial Revolution. Early factories required workers to
perform long shifts, often up to eighteen hours per day, with only Sundays off work. By the
1870s though, more efficient machinery and the emergence of trade unions resulted in
decreases in working hours per day, and allowed industrialists to give their workers Saturdays
as well as Sundays off work.
Affordable and reliable transport in the form of railways allowed urban workers to travel on
their days off, with the first package holidays to seaside resorts appearing in the 1870s, a
trend which spread to industrial nations in Europe and North America. As workers channeled
their wages into leisure activities, the modern entertainment industry (beginning with the film
industry) emerged in industrialized nations, catering to entertain workers on their days off.
This Victorian concept—the weekend—heralded the beginning of leisure time as it is known
today.
Definitions
There are many different definitions of leisure. One popular social psychological theory of
leisure was put forward by psychology professor John Neulinger in the early 1970s.
Neulinger defined leisure using three criteria:[4]
1. The experience is a state of mind.
2. It must be entered voluntarily.
3. It must be intrinsically motivating of its own merit.
Other theories abound. Sebastian de Grazia portrayed leisure as a form of contemplation.
Seppo Iso-Ahola adapted a form of optimal arousal to explain leisure. Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory is another popular definition of leisure.
Types of leisure

Active leisure activities involve the exertion of physical or mental energy. Lowimpact physical activities include walking and yoga, which expend little energy and
have little contact or competition. High-impact activities such as kick-boxing and
football consume much energy and are competitive. Some active leisure activities
involve almost no physical activity, but do require a substantial mental effort, such as
playing chess or painting a picture. Active leisure and recreation overlap significantly.

Passive leisure activities are those in which a person does not exert any significant
physical or mental energy, such as going to the cinema, watching television, or
gambling on slot machines. Some leisure experts discourage these types of leisure
activity, on the grounds that they do not provide the benefits offered by active leisure
activities. For example, acting in a community drama (an active leisure activity) could
build a person's skills or self-confidence. Nevertheless, passive leisure activities are a
good way of relaxing for many people.
Cultural differences
Men relaxing in a cafe overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Time for leisure varies from one society to the next, although anthropologists have found that
hunter-gatherers tend to have significantly more leisure time than people in more complex
societies. As a result, band societies such as the Shoshone of the Great Basin came across as
extraordinarily lazy to European colonialists.[5]
Capitalist societies often view active leisure activities positively, because active leisure
activities require the purchase of equipment and services, which stimulates the economy.
Capitalist societies often accord greater status to members who have more wealth. One of the
ways that wealthy people can choose to spend their money is by having additional leisure
time.
Workaholics are those who work compulsively at the expense of other activities. They prefer
to work rather than spend time socializing and engaging in other leisure activities. Many see
this as a necessary sacrifice to attain high-ranking corporate positions. Increasing attention,
however, is being paid to the effects of such imbalance upon the worker and the family.