Work As The New Leisure Time

P A U L I K O M O N E N · K O P L A H E L S I N K I O Y

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Two Discourses of Work in Finland

(Dufva et al. 2017)

INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY

Work as controlled, linear production

Focus on taxation, legislation, welfare structures, export

REDEFINING WORK

Work as meaningful interaction and problem solving

Focus on ways of working, compe-tences, organizations, networks

In the ”productivity” discourse, the question of time is critical: work is as it used to be.

In the ”redefining” discourse, the question of time is open.

Let’s concentrate on the second one…

When trying to crystallize the Zeitgeist of work in the ”redefining" discourse, we can observe values and attributes like:

PASSION

MEANINGFULNESS

HAPPINESS

EMPATHY

COMMUNITY

Work is supposedto be fun.

Take a look at leisure. What do working age people do then?

PHYSICAL EXERCISE

TAKING CARE of k ids and / or one’s own parents

HOUSEWORK

Dull, repetitive and draining activities.

According to recent studies, leisure activities have become more stressful than work. (eg. Hakala 2016, Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus 2013)

Home is the 19th century factory.

But it’s not only because we are forced to do many things there, it’s also about trying to optimize every area of life.

Being in control is important for the middle class, and when the working life can not be controlled, the quest for control moves to the leisure time and home.

(Siltala 2017)

If we look at interior trends, what do we see at home?

Scandinavian minimalism, post-industrial rustiness, middle-class decency.

How about the workplace?

Kindergarten colorfulness, pinball and pool tables, tongue in cheek slogans on the wall.

Consumerization of work: People look at work from the perspective of a consumer.

We go to the workplace to experience something and forward-looking companies concentrate on employee experience design.

Is this a mere illusion?

The so-called ’new work’ and the freedom related to it has led to a new situation:

People experience stress, because they don’t have skills to manage the freedom.

We are still learning self-leadership and other new skills.

Time is not synchronized anymore.

This is the idea of rhythm economy(Halava & Pantzar 2013) and desynchronized society(Wajcman 2014).

We do mostly same things as before, but not at the same time with other people.

Life is not faster than before, but we have an experience of acceleration.

Extremely fast and extremely slow time overlap with each other.

This creates a new experience of time, but does not change the quantity of time.

To understand contemporary work and leisure, we need to be aware of this diversity of time and temporalities.

Thank You!

PA U L I K O M O N E N K O P L A H E L S I N K I O Y

www.kopla.fi www.paulikomonen.com Twitter: @paulikomonen