In Iran, since the economic crisis in 2010s, individuals have been forced to work longer hours to keep food on the table. This situation keeps the working class away from spending time for their hobbies. I believe that this phenomenon, has more demerits than merits. Even though, working longer hours by minimizing leisure activities can lead to higher production rates and ultimately higher income; it poses risks of burn-out and depression which can drastically impact quality of life.
On one hand, due to the inflation, there has been a non-stop increase in the price of all sorts of goods, and the usual response by the pedastrians to tackle this problem has been working longer hours. As an example, teachers can no longer be sure if their salary would suffice for the expenditure of the family, thus they would start a job elsewhere to cover these expenses. By this action, their family can live with more prosperity and experience less economic pressure.
On the other hand, having a favorite hobby can be helpful for maintaining the quality of life; while working longer hours leaves very little time for people to take proper care of themselves. For example, a study by the Harvard School of Medicine showed that doctors with the highest hospital hours in a month tend to commit more errors than the doctors who had an average working time. This is due to the fact that having leisure activities can boost accuracy and avoid being burnt-out.
As a conclusion, it is true that in the hard times of economic break-down people have to strive harder to keep their children fed. However, this cannot be continued for a long time because it will cause work/life inbalance. Therefore, I believe that having an escape from the routine by doing a leisure activity can have more advantages than ignoring this human need.