PATTERNS AND PERCEPTION OF LEISURE : COMPARISON BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS

Abstract

With growing affluence in the global economy, people are assuming higher levels of expectations for many areas of their lives, including leisure. In the case of Singapore, economic development over the past decade has accompanied an increase in the number of work hours. This study is interested in finding out how two occupational groups of professionals and blue-collar workers accomodate their leisure in view of the increase in the hours worked. The findings of this study show that professionals have higher levels of expectations for their leisure which explains their general dissatisfaction with their leisure time. Blue-collar workers, however, have lower levels of expectations and they also experience greater satisfaction in both work and leisure. This study also finds that work, family, education and gender are important factors in determining the patterns and perception of leisure of professionals and blue-collar workers.