In “Work and Leisure” by Roger C. Mannell and Donald G. Reid, “Emergent Working Society of Leisure” by Neil Ravenscroft and Paul Gilchrist, and “Working at Fun” by Deborah Rapuano, the definition of work and leisure has undergone a transformation of the traditional separation of the two terms in the combination of the different spheres of activity in different ways. A key reason is that as society has changed, becoming a global economy and providing new sources of creative endeavor for some members of society, some people have been able to combine their work as an economic activity with intrinsically motivated work that provides the same type of personal fulfillment that usually occurs in leisure activities.

An example of this combination of work and leisure is the “work” of artists, architects, and other creative professionals who derive personal satisfaction from what they do, as described by Ravenscroft and Gilchrest. At the same time, others who take up an activity as a leisure hobby, such as some of the pub musicians described by Rapuano, may find that what started out as a fun activity becomes a source of work by becoming a source of work. of work. tradable merchandise for which they receive payment.

Consequently, while work and leisure can be two different aspects of life in some circumstances, they intermingle and can become part of a continuum depending on how different people seek work-life balance. On the one hand, for some people, especially those in the lower economic strata of society, work and leisure are often separated, as in the case of a worker in a factory or on a farm, who has to work for a living. , and leisure for them is largely a non-work activity, dedicated to activities with the family, drinking socially with friends, participating in or watching sports, going to the movies or musical gatherings, and enjoying other types of celebrations. While there may be small opportunities for leisure activities during the workday, such as having coffee or lunch between shifts or listening to music while performing routine activities, generally employees, commonly called “workers” to highlight that they are considered workers in this role , engages in leisure time activities outside of work.

In contrast, for professionals, knowledge workers, managers, business owners, and entrepreneurs, especially those who have achieved higher economic status, work and leisure are mixed, and many activities that could be considered leisure activities if not performed with others in the same profession, industry, or profession, have a work component. For example, a sales manager or business owner may attend a sales conference to improve their sales success, but before, between, and after the seminars, the person may visit exhibits, participate in breakfasts, lunches, dinners and networking parties. , and have drinks at a local nightclub with others at the conference that are nice and for business purposes. While part of the event is dedicated to learning about techniques and strategies to improve the ability to work better and smarter, much of the event is dedicated to having fun. However, even while having fun, one participates in these activities with business colleagues who could be a source of business in the future, so leisure contributes to personal success at work. Consequently, leisure becomes an independent variable and also a dependent variable, which is determined by the type of work carried out by professionals, managers, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs). However, since work and play at the conference are so intertwined, can they really be separated?

Mannell and Reid point out this difficulty of keeping work and leisure separate in changing times, which requires a new way of defining them. As you note, the earliest research was based on viewing work and leisure as separate spheres of life, so researchers examined things like “shifting allocations of time between work and leisure” or the trade-offs that people between earning money (at work) versus having more free time (at leisure). In addition, the researchers examined the relationship between leisure as an independent variable and examined how the type of work people did influenced their leisure activity. Some of his theories reflected this perspective, such as the spillover theory in which people engage in leisure activities with characteristics “similar to their work-related activities and tasks,” such as the IT professional who enjoys Internet activities during their time free. Another of these theories is the theory of compensation, in which it is considered that a person fills his gaps at work or seeks to satisfy unmet needs at work by engaging in very different activities, as when a sedentary worker embarks on a journey of adventure expedition for fun. Even the neutrality approach is based on the idea that work and leisure are two separate domains, in the sense that people “compartmentalize their experiences of work and leisure.”

However, while Mannell and Reid illustrate how early researchers defined leisure and work as different spheres, they illustrate how later researchers developed changing definitions in response to changes in society. As they conclude after describing a series of studies showing individual differences in the way people relate work and leisure in their lives:

“These kinds of findings suggest that people differ based on the ways work and leisure are related and organized in their lives. There doesn’t seem to be one dominant relationship between work and leisure, but rather a variety of possibilities that differ.” depending on immediate social and economic circumstances, and the important individual differences in needs, attitudes, and personality that are likely to result from socializing influences.

Mannell and Reid also make an important distinction between leisure for fun and relaxation alone and “serious leisure,” which involves engaging in activities that require developing skills and expressing a long-term career-like commitment. Although they discuss this type of leisure in the context of research on retirees, who find that engaging in more active and serious forms of leisure help them feel more positive about themselves and cope better with retirement, this distinction could apply to anyone undertaking a serious leisure activity and may later turn it into a career. Two examples of this are the weekend painter who decides to become an artist or the garage band musician who decides to hit the concert circuit and make enough money to make a living from his music.

This idea of ​​the fusion of leisure and work is also expressed in the notion of a continuum of work and leisure practices discussed by Ravenscroft and Gilchrist, citing the work of Rojek in proposing the notion of civil work which is based on the idea that the “separation of work from subsistence needs in western societies has allowed people to develop series of activities through which they can express their identities”. Building on Rojek’s ideas, Ravenscroft and Gilchrist propose that a “working leisure society” has emerged in which leisure is understood as self-determined work and through which people can obtain a combination of “social, psychological, and psychological rewards.” and financial”. They argue that such a society is exemplified by creative workers who studied at Hastings in the southeast of England, who chose to work in creative pursuits they loved, even if they didn’t earn enough money to support themselves through that work, but found other ways to support themselves. their creative activities, from the use of savings, inheritance or part-time work to support themselves.

This kind of mix of work and leisure is also shown in Rapuano’s description of some pub session musicians in Ireland and Chicago, who may be drawn to turn their music into work, due to profit-oriented incentives driven by the market that result in traded sessions. Although most musicians still participate for fun, some turn this into work, such as becoming a session organizer and committing to playing regularly for a paying audience.

Therefore, I would agree that, in certain circumstances, work and leisure can be considered two completely different aspects of life, such as when people do not like their work or clearly distinguish their activities as work, and dedicate themselves to other activities that they consider non-work leisure. activities. On the other hand, for other people, work and leisure can be mixed, as for creatives or professionals who obtain their identity and fulfillment through their work. To a large extent, the distinction may have an economic basis, in the sense that those at lower socioeconomic levels who hold lower-status jobs may be more likely to think of their work in one sphere and their leisure in another, while Those with higher incomes and higher status jobs have the luxury of choice, so they can select jobs that they truly enjoy and find fulfillment in.

Still, there are exceptions, such as creatives who love what they do but don’t make a lot of money doing it, like the creatives described by Ravenscroft and Gilcrest, as well as actors, artists, and writers everywhere, who have a hard time making a living in what they do, but they continue to do it for the love of their art.

However, beyond economic considerations, this distinction must be seen from the perspective of the subjects and their way of defining leisure and work, a more phenomenological vision. While structural patterns, such as economic conditions, may contribute to work and leisure being defined as separate domains of life or combined in some way as part of a continuum in which the balance between work and leisure it changes for different people based on their lifestyle and the time spent on it. work or leisure activities, the meaning of the activity performed is also important, as different individuals may define the activity in different ways. What may seem like work to one person (such as the factory worker) may seem like leisure to another (such as the creative worker who is totally satisfied with what he or she is doing). Therefore, it is important to combine both a structural and an intrinsic approach to motivation when defining work and leisure.