Leisure generation?

Being busy and bragging about it may lose its luster as members of Generation X and Generation Y start pushing a more balanced approach to work and leisure and baby boomers retire, says Linda Nazareth, economist and author.

“The leisure economy is the opposite of what we have now, a time-crunch economy,” says Ms. Nazareth, author of last year’s “The Leisure Economy: How Changing Demographics, Economics, and Generational Attitudes Will Reshape Our Lives and Our Industries.”

“Leisure hasn’t been a powerful part of this economy for 30 years. People haven’t asked for leisure, and they haven’t had leisure,” she says.

Leisure time, as Ms. Nazareth defines it, is time to use as wished after working and taking care of housework, child care, errands and other necessities. The time-crunch economy, she says, is a baby boomer phenomena focused on long hours and high productivity in the office and, at home, the fastest way of doing things, drive-through eating and keeping a busy schedule.

The boomers — a generation 77 million strong born from around 1946 to 1964 — saw leisure as a luxury as they faced tough economic times and had to compete with each other in the job market, promising to work harder and longer hours to be competitive, she says.

As the boomers continue to retire during the next few decades, however, they will be replaced by the work force of Generations X and Y, who have a different attitude toward work, Ms. Nazareth says.

“They’re going to shape the work force and family life, so they’ll have more time for things beside work,” says Ms. Nazareth, who lives in Toronto.

Gen X and Gen Y workers — as well as retired boomers — will want to fill their time with more leisurely activities, such as hobbies, entertainment, volunteerism and travel, Ms. Nazareth says. To get their leisure time, Gen X and Gen Y workers will be asking for more time off, flexible hours and telecommuting opportunities, she says.

Some psychologists and sociologists, however, do not see the emergence of a leisure economy.

The workers of Gen X and Gen Y, although they may value leisure, may not be able to put their values in practice when they encounter the pressures of the job market, says Jerry A. Jacobs, professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

“I’m sympathetic with the goals being described by Ms. Nazareth,” says Mr. Jacobs, who holds a doctorate in sociology. “I would love to see a society where jobs were more flexible and there was a greater appreciation of leisure time. … I like her goals. I’m not sure the society we’re currently in is enabling us to get there.”

Ms. Nazareth agrees that job market pressures have prevented leisure values, especially for Gen Xers, who have been working in a boomer-dominated work force and unable to push their agenda, she says.

However, over the next several years, members of Gen Y, along with those in Gen X, will gain bargaining power, due to a low unemployment rate and a projected shortage of workers as aging boomers retire, she says.

The younger generations also want leisure time because of the way they were raised, Ms. Nazareth says.

Gen Y, also called the millennials, born from around 1977 to 1999, are a laid-back generation that grew up in good economic times, able to try different activities from soccer to ballet, Ms. Nazareth says. Gen X, those born from around 1965 to 1976, are a smaller generation that also is more laid-back and lacks the corporate loyalty of the boomers, being more likely to change jobs, she says.

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