Is this you?
An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal told of the latest “American Time Use Survey” released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.
It seems we now have extra time to spend each day due to rising unemployment. Okay, that I understand – a person without a job might have more spare time than those who are working 60-hour weeks in order to remain among the employed.
But how Americans are spending their spare time is not understandable. Instead of doing things that would get one closer to a paycheck again – like building new skills, volunteering, networking, etc. – or even things that people always talk about doing but never “have the time” – like developing a hobby, going to church, or spending quality moments with family and friends – do you know how people are frittering away their extra time?
Watching more TV.
And….sleeping.
Many economists had surmised that people who had lost their jobs (roughly 10% of our country) or whose work hours had been reduced would engage in activities they previously might have paid someone else to do, like cooking meals, cleaning, or fixing up the house. But that’s not been the case.
The article didn’t mention eating, but I’m wondering whether there’s more of that going on, too. Sleeping, watching TV, and eating are often signs of depression, of course. And so I’m looking around wondering whether I’m surrounded by a lot of depressed Americans.
Here’s what I would do with an extra hour a day: I’d plant a garden … practice my Spanish … learn to play the baritone ukulele … and take baskets of my garden vegetables to all of my neighbors.
Let’s pretend the Labor Department is dead wrong. What would you do with an extra hour?
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