Media Clipping — Wed, Sept.24th, 2008 Metro Halifax

New study confirms Nova Scotians work too much

A lot of Nova Scotians complain they work too much. Now they’ve got science to back them up.

A new study from GPI Atlantic shows not only are Nova Scotians working too much, but work has eaten into their leisure time more and more over the past decade.

According to GPI, we spend five hours and 40 minutes a day on free time, which is half an hour less than in the 1990s.

It doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but it adds up to over 200 hours a year spent working instead of playing.

“We work inordinately long hours compared to the free world,” said Saint Mary’s University professor Andrew Harvey, who authored the report.

“We need to take a hard look at work hours and work regimens.”

The study also put a dollar value on how much free time is lost.

They used a system based on other studies that show people will give up income as long as it gives them twice as much time (so people are willing to take two hours off, if it only cost them one hour’s worth of wages.)

GPI then halved the average wage of $17.54 an hour to calculate Nova Scotians are losing $1.25 billion worth of free time each year compared to what they were 10 years ago.

Harvey said the government needs to step in to ensure Nova Scotians work less and that this could even help the economy.

“It might just help it, according to research that’s been done. Because when people are working their butts off they aren’t working productively.”

“We might be slightly less productive in one sense. But we might be much more healthy and productive in another.”

Harvey said many European nations work much fewer hours, but their economies are strong.

Single moms lost the most free time — an average of 2.7 hours a day below ’90s levels — according to GPI.

The leisure activity that was dropped the most was reading.

Copyright © 2008, Halifax Metro