A counted number of pulses only is given to us of a variegated,
dramatic life. How may we see in them all that is to seen in them
by the finest senses? - Walter Pater, 1873
Introduction
Until medical science finds ways of prolonging our lives to the point of utter tedium, time is the inescapably scarce resource. For young people, the constructive use of time sets the stage for enjoyment of later life. Aristotle observed that education is the best provision of old age, and work integrates us into society. So what do we know about how young South Africans spend their time?
Statistics South Africa has conducted two time use surveys, the second of which was taken in 2010.
Although the data are six years old, the current pattern of time use is not likely to have varied by much. The survey divides up the day into half hour time slots (with finer subdivisions when necessary) and it categorizes activity in each slot. Respondents were interviewed about their activities in a single day (with the day of the week recorded). In this brief, attention is limited to week days (Monday to Friday).
Analysis
For the purposes of analysis, young people are divided into four categories:
1. Those working
2. Those not working, but undergoing education
3. The unemployed (including discouraged workers) not undergoing education
4. The economically active not undergoing education
Table 1 sets out the average number of minutes per week day spent by workers and learners across the various types of activity. It shows that the average time at work is lower for women than for men, and the heavier burden of household maintenance and care of persons among women, resulting in less time spent on social and cultural activities. Those in education only spend more time on social and cultural activities than their working counterparts.
As the Parisians say about routine life, metro, boulot, dodo[1], and the average patterns for workers are probably not much different from patterns in other middle income or rich countries.
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Table 1 - Youth in employment, education and training
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|
Weekdays
|
|
Average minutes per day
|
|
|
Working
|
|
In education, not working
|
|
|
Men
|
Women
|
|
Men
|
Women
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At work
|
378
|
328
|
|
0
|
0
|
|
Work-related travel
|
57
|
52
|
|
0
|
0
|
|
Educational activities[2]
|
22
|
15
|
|
325
|
314
|
|
Education-related travel
|
5
|
3
|
|
59
|
59
|
|
Household maintenance
|
65
|
147
|
|
72
|
120
|
|
Care of persons
|
3
|
31
|
|
2
|
15
|
|
Community service
|
3
|
4
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
Social and cultural activities
|
114
|
76
|
|
149
|
93
|
|
Mass media[3]
|
104
|
93
|
|
140
|
122
|
|
Sleeping and related activities
|
513
|
519
|
|
521
|
530
|
|
Other personal care[4]
|
172
|
164
|
|
171
|
168
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
1436
|
1432
|
|
1440
|
1422
|
Note: The minutes should add up to 1440. Rounding errors and occasional miscoding or missing data account for the discrepancies
But there are some points at a less aggregated level which deserve comment:
1. The average length of the working day varies geographically, as Table 2 shows. Noticeable is the shortness of the working day in establishments in tribal areas. The longest working days are in the rural formal (commercial farming) sector.
2. As Table 3 shows, 17% of men and 21% of women reported that, although they were employed, they did not work at all on the reference day. This could be because they were on leave, or ill, or because they work some of the days between Monday and Friday, but not all of them. A further 29% of men and 35% of women reported working less than seven hours. On the other hand, 23% of men and 16% of women reported working nine hours or longer. Short working hours in the tribal areas are reflected in the fact that only 31% of men and 27% of women report working seven hours or more.
3. Educational activities in Table 1 include time spent on homework, non-formal education and work-related training, but one can identify the time spent at an educational institution. More young people are in schools than other educational institutions up to age 22. The prescribed time per week of instruction in Grades 10, 11 and 12 is 27.5 hours, or 330 minutes per day. And this is time spent in the class room. Another 60 minutes should be added for breaks However, young people in this age range reported that they spent an average of 288 minutes at school if they attended it in their reference day, with 31% attending for 330 minutes or longer, and just 8% attending for 390 minutes or longer.
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Table 2[5]
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Week days
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Average minutes per day
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Men
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Work in
establishments
|
Primary
production
|
Work not in
establishments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Urban formal
|
394
|
3
|
20
|
|
Urban informal
|
367
|
15
|
26
|
|
Tribal
|
181
|
65
|
29
|
|
Rural formal
|
427
|
42
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Women
|
Work in
establishments
|
Primary
production
|
Work not in
establishments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Urban formal
|
344
|
2
|
14
|
|
Urban informal
|
327
|
3
|
27
|
|
Tribal
|
155
|
55
|
25
|
|
Rural formal
|
400
|
17
|
8
|
|
Table 3
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Work time distribution
|
|
Weekdays
|
Urban
formal
|
Urban
informal
|
Tribal
|
Rural
formal
|
All
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Men
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zero
|
16,6%
|
17,0%
|
18,7%
|
7,7%
|
16,7%
|
|
Less than 7 hours
|
19,8%
|
21,5%
|
49,4%
|
18,0%
|
28,8%
|
|
7 hours to less than 9 hours
|
36,7%
|
33,4%
|
18,9%
|
36,6%
|
31,0%
|
|
9 hours or more
|
26,9%
|
28,1%
|
12,9%
|
37,7%
|
23,4%
|
|
Total
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Women
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zero
|
19,4%
|
19,9%
|
25,3%
|
7,9%
|
20,6%
|
|
Less than 7 hours
|
29,0%
|
33,1%
|
47,5%
|
28,6%
|
34,6%
|
|
7 hours to less than 9 hours
|
34,4%
|
30,9%
|
17,4%
|
31,9%
|
29,1%
|
|
9 hours or more
|
17,2%
|
16,1%
|
9,8%
|
31,5%
|
15,7%
|
|
Total
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
100,0%
|
Conclusion
At first sight, the average pattern of time use looks fairly standard for a middle income country. But below the surface, there is great variation in the time spent in employment, with a standard work day of between seven and nine hours being far from the most common experience. The average time spent at school for young people between the ages of 15 and 22 is well below the norm for Grades 10 to 12 prescribed by the Department of Basic Education.
Charles Simkins
Head of Research
charles@hsf.org.za
NOTES:
[1] Train, work, sleep.
[2] Educational activities include school, college or university attendance, homework, studies and course review, additional study, non-formal education and courses, and work-related training
[3] Mass media refers overwhelmingly to watching television and videos and listening to the radio and music
[4] Other personal care consists mainly of eating and drinking, personal hygiene and health and rest and relaxation
[5] Work in establishments refers roughly to formal employment, and work outside them refers to informal employment. Primary production refers to household production of predominantly agricultural goods
