The chart illustrates how employed adults allocated their time to various activities in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, working and sleeping accounted for the largest proportions in both years, while the time spent on other activities remained relatively similar. However, the proportion of time spent going out showed a noticeable decline over the period.
In 1958, the proportions of time spent working and sleeping were almost equal. By 2008, however, the percentage of time devoted to work increased significantly from 33% to 42%, whereas the figure for sleeping fell from 32% to 25%. In contrast, the proportion of time spent going out decreased markedly, dropping from 24% to just 6%.
Moreover, the percentages for relaxing at home, other interests, and travelling to work showed less variation and increased gradually. While time spent on other interests rose by only 2% to reach 8%, travelling to work increased more noticeably, from 2% to 8% in 2008. Relaxing at home also experienced a minimal increase of 5%.