Poll Archive
Time-Poor Britain
Fieldwork: November 4th 2004 - November 7th 2004
published by The Times
Which of the following best describes where you live?
| In a town | 47% |
|---|---|
| In a village | 23% |
| In a city | 21% |
| In the countryside | 10% |
Which of the following best describes your work status?
| Employed in full time work | 44% |
|---|---|
| Not currently in employment | 36% |
| Employed part-time | 13% |
| Student | 6% |
| Refused to says | 1% |
Now can I ask you about your marital status? Which of the following applied to you?
| Married | 46% |
|---|---|
| Single - in a relationship of a year or longer | 17% |
| Single - In a relationship of less than a year | 4% |
| Single - not currently in a relationship | 33% |
| Refused to say | 1% |
How many hours a week do you work?
| 0-10 hours | 7% |
|---|---|
| 11-20 hours | 11% |
| 21-29 hours | 8% |
| 30-35 hours | 11% |
| 36-40 hours | 36% |
| 41-50 hours | 16% |
| 50+ hours | 11% |
How many hours a day, if any, do you spend commuting to and from work?
| Less than one hour | 58% |
|---|---|
| 1-2 hours | 26% |
| 2-3 hours | 5% |
| 3-4 hours | 1% |
| 4-5 hours | 2% |
| More than 5 hours | 3% |
| Don't know | 4% |
People sometimes use the phrase ‘free time' to describe periods of time when they alone can decide exactly what they do, thinking about a typical week from Monday to Friday, how much free time would you say you have?
| ALL | IN WORK | (full time/part time) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than one hour | 7% | 9% | (9%/9%) |
| Between 1and 2 hours | 7% | 7% | (6%9%) |
| Between 2 and 5 hours | 15% | 18% | (17%/21%) |
| Between 5 and 10 hours | 21% | 25% | (25%/22%) |
| More than 10 hours | 48% | 41% | (43%/36%) |
| Don't know | 2% | 1% | (1%/3%) |
And how much free time would you say you have during a typical weekend?
| ALL | IN WORK | (full time/part time) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Between 1and 2 hours | 4% | 4% | (3%/7%) |
| Between 2 and 5 hours | 13% | 13% | (11%/20%) |
| Between 5 and 10 hours | 22% | 21% | (20%/26%) |
| More than 10 hours | 53% | 54% | (59%/38%) |
| Don't know | 1% | 1% | (1%/2) |
I am now going to read out some things that have been said about people's attitudes towards Sundays, please could you say whether you agree or disagree with each statement?
| Agree | Disagree | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday used to be special but now no different to Saturday | 75% | 24% |
| Sunday is the only proper day of rest | 52% | 47% |
| I always try to spend some time on Sunday with family/friends | 74% | 26% |
Roughly how many hours a week do you spend doing each of the following?
| None | 1 hr or less | 1-2hrs | 2-5 hrs | 5-8 hrs | 8-10 hrs | 10-15 hrs | 15 + hrs | Don't know | Mean score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watching TV | 3% | 3% | 5% | 17% | 14% | 12% | 18% | 28% | 1% | 9.73 |
| Playing/listening to music | 11% | 5% | 14% | 25% | 14% | 6% | 10% | 14% | 0% | 6.25 |
| Cooking | 10% | 5% | 9% | 24% | 23% | 11% | 12% | 5% | 1% | 5.97 |
| Eating family/friends | 8% | 4% | 14% | 31% | 24% | 9% | 6% | 3% | 1% | 4.96 |
| Reading | 17% | 5% | 16% | 26% | 15% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 1% | 4.81 |
| Exercising | 23% | 4% | 11% | 26% | 15% | 7% | 7% | 5% | 0% | 4.53 |
| Taking a bath | 10% | 8% | 21% | 38% | 15% | 3% | 2% | 0% | 1% | 3.31 |
| Shopping | 9% | 7% | 27% | 40% | 10% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 3.30 |
| Doing nothing at all | 34% | 14% | 12% | 20% | 5% | 2% | 4% | 7% | 1% | 3.22 |
| Outdoor leisure pursuit | 40% | 4% | 11% | 23% | 10% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 1% | 3.16 |
| Reading a newspaper | 24% | 11% | 19% | 25% | 13% | 3% | 4% | 1% | 0% | 3.01 |
| Playing with children | 65% | 2% | 3% | 8% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 0% | 2.93 |
| Personal grooming & etc | 13% | 16% | 26% | 26% | 11% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2.82 |
| In a pub or bar | 52% | 8% | 11% | 17% | 5% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 1.90 |
| Spiritual practice | 70% | 7% | 12% | 6% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0.88 |
| Playing team sport | 82% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 2% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0.59 |
| At the cinema | 71% | 13% | 8% | 6% - | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0.47 |
Now thinking about these activities, which of them do you feel most guilty about doing? (Those who didn't answer have been excluded)
| Doing nothing at all | 29% |
|---|---|
| Watching TV | 27% |
| In a pub or bar | 8% |
| Cooking | 6% |
| Shopping | 5% |
| Reading | 4% |
| Don't know | 3% |
| Eating with family/friends | 3% |
| Exercising | 2% |
| Playing team sport | 2% |
| Playing with your children | 2% |
| Outdoor leisure pursuit | 1% |
| Reading a newspaper | 1% |
| Personal grooming | 1% |
| Playing/listening to music | 1% |
| Spiritual practice | - |
| Taking a bath | - |
| At the cinema | - |
I am now going to ask you about a number of household chores. Please could you say roughly how much time per month you spend on the following chores?
| None | Less than 5 hrs | 5-10 hrs | 10-15 hrs | 15 + hrs | 20 + hrs | Don't know | Mean score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | 8% | 20% | 24% | 12% | 11% | 12% | 1% | 11.70 |
| Washing and ironing | 16% | 27% | 24% | 14% | 7% | 12% | 7% | 8.44 |
| Gardening | 42% | 27% | 13% | 7% | 3% | 7% | 0% | 4.87 |
| Painting and decorating | 52% | 29% | 9% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 2.97 |
| Minor household repairs | 40% | 46% | 9% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 2.62 |
| Grocery shopping | 11% | 35% | 31% | 12% | 4% | 6% | 1% | 7.12 |
| Personal admin | 24% | 59% | 11% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 3.04 |
Which, if any, of these chores do you pay someone else to perform?
| Painting and decorating | 20% |
|---|---|
| Minor household repairs | 18% |
| Cleaning | 11% |
| Gardening | 9% |
| Washing and ironing | 7% |
| Grocery shopping | 3% |
| Personal admin such as paying bills | 3% |
| None/don't know | 65% |
Which, if any of the chores that you currently do yourself would you most like to pay someone else to do if you could afford it?
| Cleaning | 20% |
|---|---|
| Washing and ironing | 32% |
| Gardening | 20% |
| Painting and decorating | 19% |
| Minor household repairs | 18% |
| Grocery shopping | 13% |
| Personal admin such as paying bills | 8% |
| None/don't know | 32% |
Do you use holiday time from work to catch up with mundane chores?
| All | In Work | |
| Yes | 36% | 50% |
| No | 64% | 50% |
If yes, what sort of chores ?
| All | In Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | 63% | 60% |
| Washing and ironing | 39% | 34% |
| Gardening | 35% | 36% |
| Painting and decorating | 48% | 51% |
| Minor household repairs | 34% | 34% |
| Grocery Shopping | 25% | 22% |
| Personal admin such as paying bills | 23% | 21% |
| Other | 21% | 22% |
| Don't know | 2% | 1% |
Some people say that they would be willing to work fewer hours for less pay so that they would have more time to do other things, would you personally be willing to work fewer hours for less pay?
| Yes | 22% |
|---|---|
| No | 78% |
Of those who said yes, I am now going to read out some statements please could you say which one comes closest to your view. I would be willing to work fewer hours for less pay so that:
| I could spend more time with my family | 58% |
|---|---|
| I could spend more time with my friends | 10% |
| I could have more time to myself | 28% |
| Don't know | 4% |
Of those who said no, I am now going to read out some statements please could you say which one comes closest to your view. I would not be willing to work fewer hours for less pay because:
| I enjoy my job and find it rewarding | 29% |
|---|---|
| I couldn't afford to live on less | 52% |
| Couldn't employ people to do chores | 2% |
| Would have to cut back on things i enjoy | 14% |
| Don't know | 3% |
How much time per week do you spend socialising with work colleagues after work?
| Less than 1 hour | 19% |
|---|---|
| Between one and 2 hours | 18% |
| More than 2 hours | 12% |
| Never socialise with work colleagues | 50% |
Thinking about the amount of time you spend socialising with work colleagues after work please could you say whether you agree or disagree with the following statements
| ALL | IN WORK | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enjoy socialising with work colleagues | 85% | 13% | 2% |
| Would rather spend time with family | 41% | 57% | 3% |
| Would rather spend time on own | 27% | 73% | - |
I am now going to read out some statements about office life, please say in each case whether you agree or disagree with them
| All | In Work | Not office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| As much work but fewer hours in office | 36% | 44% | 19% |
| Accept taking work home is part of the job | 27% | 58% | 15% |
| Resent taking work home | 31% | 54% | 15% |
| Work longer hours than immediate boss | 31% | 57% | 12% |
If yes to this statement - Which one of the following reasons best describes why you work longer hours than your immediate boss
| I enjoy my job | 36% | |
|---|---|---|
| Best way for me to gain promotion | 14% | |
| My boss insists | 12% | |
| I find my job difficult | 10% | |
| If I don't I might be fired | 4% | |
| Don't know | 24% |
How many hours per week do you spend on the following at work?
| None | Less half an hour | Half an hour to 1hr | 1-2 hrs | 2-3 hrs | 3-4 hrs | 4-5 hrs | 5 + hrs | Mean score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office Politics | 58% | 12% | 8% | 8% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 0.75 |
| Personal phone calls | 50% | 18% | 15% | 9% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 0.59 |
| Personal e-mails/internet | 64% | 11% | 9% | 7% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 0.57 |
| Non-essential discussions | 50% | 9% | 13% | 14% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 0.82 |
Those with children only - How many hours a week, if any, do you employ each of the following?
| None Up to 10 hrs | 11-20 hrs | 21-29 hrs | 30-35 hrs | 36-40 hrs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanny | 98% | 1% | 1% | - | - |
| Au pair | 98% | 1% | - | - | - |
| Nursery | 87% | 5% | 6% | 2% | 1% |
| Baby sitting | 87% | 5% | 6% | - | - |
On a scale of 1-10, where 1 means you are not at all anxious and 10 means you are very anxious, how anxious are you about being on time to pick up your children from nursery/child-minder/nanny or to relieve your spouse?
| Very anxious (10) | 28% |
|---|---|
| Not at all anxious (1) | 27% |
| Mean | 5.93 |
How many times per week do you take home work with you?
| Once or twice | 19% |
|---|---|
| Most evenings | 8% |
| Every evening | 10% |
| Never | 64% |
Those without children only: Do you feel that you work longer hours than colleagues with children?
| Yes | 32% |
|---|---|
| No | 65% |
To those that answered yes: Which of the following reasons best describes the reason for this?
| Prefer to work in a less pressurised way | 17% |
| Heavier work load to compensate for those with families | 15% |
| Working longer increases chance of promotion | 11% |
| Enjoy job and gain satisfaction | 44% |
| Don't know | 13% |
Do you believe that colleagues with children take more time off work/more holiday? (not including paternity/maternity leave)
| Yes | 46% |
| No | 51% |
| Don't know | 7% |
To those who answered Yes: Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
| Agree | Disagree | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|
| It's reasonable, would do the same | 61% | 38% | 1% |
| Resent it, all should have equal time off | 61% | 39% | - |
| For the good of society as a whole | 64% | 31% | 5% |
Love and Dating
How many hours a week do you and your partner spend having sex
| ALL | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | In work | Not in work | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-1 hours | 14% | 10% | 8% | 9% | 11% | 22% | 32% | 9% | 23% |
| 1-2 hours | 8% | 4% | 10% | 9% | 10% | 7% | 3% | 9% | 6% |
| 2-4 hours | 10% | 14% | 14% | 10% | 9% | 9% | 2% | 12% | 5% |
| 4-6 hours | 7% | 8% | 12% | 9% | 6% | 5% | - | 9% | 4% |
| 6-8 hours | 3% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 4% | 3% |
| 8-10 hours | 2% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 3% | - | - | 1% | 2% |
| More than 10 hours | 3% | 9% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
Are the following statements true to you or not? I think I would be happier if I spent more time with my spouse/partner
| Yes | 69% |
|---|---|
| No | 29% |
| Don't know | 1% |
Arguments with my partner are caused by lack of time together
| Yes | 34% |
|---|---|
| No | 64% |
| Don't know | 2% |
How many hours per week do you spend alone with your partner, not including sleep?
| Up to 10 hrs | 11-20 hrs | 21-29 hrs | 30-35 hrs | 36-40 hrs | 41-50 hrs | 50+ hrs | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34% | 23% | 12% | 8% | 4% | 3% | 13% | 21.33 |
People with a spouse/partner only? Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:
| Agree | Disagree | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I spend more time on my own that i'd like | 51% | 48% | 1% |
How many hours per week do you spend socialising with potential partners?
| ALL | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 58% | 27% | 52% | 54% | 58% | 74% | 71% |
| Less than two hours | 10% | 17% | 10% | 18% | 14% | 6% | 4% |
| Between two and five hours | 13% | 30% | 25% | 7% | 10% | 7% | 7% |
| Between five and ten hours | 9% | 12% | 2% | 16% | 9% | 5% | 8% |
| More than 10 hours | 8% | 14% | 9% | 2% | 10% | 5% | 8% |
How many times in a typical week do you become truly angry?
| ALL | IN WORK | NOT AT WORK | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 37% | 33% | 42% |
| No more than once | 32% | 36% | 27% |
| Between 2 and 10 times | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| More than 10 times | 4% | 4% | 4% |
How many times in a typical week do you become truly angry?
| Time spent on hold to call centres | 33% |
|---|---|
| Sitting in traffic jams | 26% |
| Counters/windows closed | 17% |
| Delayed trains | 7% |
| Late deliveries | 5% |
| None of these | 12% |
How many times per week are you conscious of feeling happy?
| Never | 6% |
|---|---|
| No more than once | 4% |
| Between 2 and 10 times | 39% |
| More than 10 times | 46% |
| Don't know | 5% |
Do you have more or less free time than:
| Agree | Disagree | Don't know | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One year ago | 46% | 41% | 13% |
| Five years ago | 48% | 45% | 7% |
| Ten years ago | 48% | 48% | 4% |
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