The two pie charts illustrate how adults in a particular country allocated their working day across various activities in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, while working remained the most time-consuming activity in both years, significant changes are evident in how adults distributed their time, notably with more time spent working and relaxing at home, and less time on sleeping and going out.
In 1958, the largest proportion of the working day was spent sleeping, accounting for 32%, followed closely by working at 33%. Going out with family or friends made up a notable 19%, whereas relaxing at home constituted only 8%. Other activities such as travel to work and sports/exercise represented smaller shares, at 2% and 6% respectively.
By 2008, there was a marked shift towards more time dedicated to work, rising to 42%, making it clearly the dominant activity. Meanwhile, the proportion of time spent sleeping dropped to 25%. Time allocated to going out with family or friends also saw a substantial decline, falling to just 6%. In contrast, relaxing at home doubled to 13%. Travel to work increased significantly, from 2% to 8%, suggesting longer commuting times, while time spent on sports and exercise slightly decreased to 3%.
In summary, over the 50-year period, adults in this country devoted a larger part of their day to working and relaxing at home, while spending considerably less time on social activities and sleep.