Irreplacable but Limited: The Value of Large-Scale Time Use Surveys in Leisure Studies. The Case of Differences in Time Use by Sex, Age and Income from before to after the Covid-19 Lockdowns in the UK

Abstract

The UK pandemic lockdowns left enduring legacies in time use: paid work time up, travelling time down, and leisure time up. This paper uses evidence from the special pandemic series of time use surveys to show how the lock-down experience changed the lives of men and women, age groups and income bands, in different ways. There was a substantial shift of paid work into people’s homes. Time use became relatively genderless. Men increased and women reduced time spent on unpaid housework. Differences in time use between 18 - 60 year olds and senior age groups widened, as did differences between the top income band and the rest. These findings are used to illustrate the irreplaceable contributions that time use surveys make in leisure studies while at the same time drawing attention to their limitations which help to explain their under-use.