Statistics from the Industrial Labour Organisation illustrated in 2002 the average annual hours was 1,815; Japan worked in comparison to America was just 33 more hours. Although the figures are not far apart the latest figures from The Journal News (2004) show for the first time since World War II, America surpassed Japan in the number of hours spent working. A recent user poll illustrated, almost three out of every four respondents said they work more than the presumed normal 40 hours per week: 45 percent said they work 41 to 50 hours per week, 17 percent said they work 51 to 60 hours per week, while 10 percent said they work over 70 hours per week.
The phenomenon of overworking continues internationally and nationally. An article in the BBC News (2002) stated nearly four million people in the UK are working more than 48 hours a week. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) dubbed the long hours culture a "national disgrace". While in the UK employees’ work an average 43.6 hours the European average is 40.3. In France the average is just 38.9 hours. This is despite the European Working Time Directive of 1998 that introduced a 48-hour working week limit. The EU introduced a social charter of Fundamental Social Rights, it was adopted so that “the social dimension would not be neglected in the work to establish a single market in the Community.”
Yet, no matter how many policies and legislations are in place it does not protect many employers utilising their employees. Workers at two sites belonging to Siemens in Germany are working 40 hours instead of 35, without extra pay, to prevent their jobs being relocated to Hungary. This is a fine example of global competition for work. Shrinking of the world is making the globe more inter-connected; along with the connection is an indirect threat of relocation of jobs and outsourcing of work. Behar (2003) states recently in the UK, HSBC the world’s largest bank announced they were transferring jobs to India, Malaysia and China in order to save on labour costs and compete in a global market. A second union, Amicus, predicts that over the next five years 200,000 jobs will be lost in the UK to Asia. The second largest insurer in the UK, The Royal Sun and Alliance also relocated some of its jobs to low wage nations to increase profit margins. The only way in which it can be prevented is if the government stops burdening businesses with higher tax and red tape costs. Another reason for businesses outsourcing work to other countries may be due to many Europeans complaining of stress from overwork. In Britain, five million days are wasted each year due to stress. The high rate of absenteeism may perhaps be causing companies to relocate jobs to countries that are not complaining of high stress levels.
The global interpretation of work has many affects on leisure since Watson (1987) states leisure remains defined by work. Godbey (1999) defined leisure as time spent away from necessary chores resulting in free time. It is essential to understand how much countries are working compared to the amount of time they receive off work, as it establishes how much free time is available. Below table 1.1 illustrates a comparison of five industrialised nations average paid annual holidays in comparison to their average annual number of hours worked.
Table 1.1
Source:
The above table demonstrates a variety in the number of annual holidays a country receives. The variation is from 42-13 days; exemplifying Americans are working harder and longer, whilst taking fewer and shorter holidays. European countries such as Germany and France are taking longer annual holidays whilst working less average annual hours. Biehl (2003) states Germany is one of the lowest average working countries of 1,444 hours in 2002, making them the world champions of leisure time. The Germans receive six weeks off each year plus 11 to 13 single-day paid holidays and work fewer hours than any other industrialised nation. Biehl (2003) proclaims the Germans see vacation as a social right, declaring for them, it is simply a sign that they know how to enjoy life. However the economy in Germany has stagnated in the past three years, with unemployment approaching 5 million. Indicating that although countries governments encourage people to take vacation time off, overwork is trying to build a strong economy. This is certainly the case for the work ethic in Japan as “the shaky economy and deeply entrenched social pressures are keeping Japan’s workaholic work force glued to the office.”
The UK Trade and Investment (2004) argue although Japan has a well-earned reputation for hard-work and long hours, there are increasingly more opportunities for the individual to take time out and to relax. Stating in recent years, although more people are taking part in recreational activities, as a whole Japan is spending less than it did only a few years ago on this area. This conveys the move away from expensive one-off activities, such as foreign travel, towards more readily accessible and cheaper forms of relaxations.
Although vacation time in America is very little, a mintel report suggests over one-fourth of employed travellers (28%) use all of their vacation time travelling to points at least 100 miles from their home. However only half of all U.S. travel is in two or three day microscopic bits. Weekend travel is more popular than ever, half of all U.S. adults (nearly 103 million) taking at least one weekend trip per year. Almost 30 percent of Americans have taken five or more weekend trips in the past year. Nevertheless while Japan has more holidays than America, karoshi still remains high amongst the Japanese. The reason being although the above table states how many holidays an individual is entitled to, the amounts that are actually taken is entirely different. Below table 1.2 illustrates the average number of vacations entitled to the Japanese alongside the number of days taken, by gender and age.
Table 1.2
Source: The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
From the table above it is assumed that neither men nor women make extensive use of their annual paid leave. Unfortunately this is not the case for just Japan; the same may be said about America. Although vacations in America are the shortest in the industrialised world a Boston College Survey identifies twenty-six percent of all Americans take no vacation at all. An Expedia.com survey found that workers in America are giving up vacations because of their career demands. The survey found that employees gave $19.5 billion back in unused vacation days to employers in 2001 and this increased to $21 billion in 2002. (Journal News 2004) For this reason the importance of leisure and tourism is becoming a major element in government initiatives around the world. In order to address the issues in America an awareness campaign had been launched called the “Work to Live Vacation Campaign” The campaign was created to bring some sanity to a workplace out of control, to emphasise minimum paid leave law and policies should be in place to promote a healthy workplace. “Take Back Your Time” is another major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine.
It has been established the future of tourism will be determined by a number of contributing factors such as working patterns and disposable income. Society changes constantly, and trends whether economic, social or lifestyle subsequently impact upon tourism, as tourism is an integral part of society. Snir and Harpaz (2002) state there are indications that the importance of leisure in individuals’ lives is increasing.
In order for many workers to enjoy tourism around their work patterns, numerous people are enjoying domestic tourism. A Mintel report on short breaks in UK (2000) states between 1996 and 2000, the number of domestic short breaks increased by 17%, while UK resident's expenditure on domestic short breaks increased by 37% to reach over £3.6 billion. Many employees across the globe take pleasure in domestic tourism in order to enjoy time off work. The Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO) estimates that Japan’s domestic tourism industry generates around ¥50 trillion ($420 billion).
Snir and Harpaz (2002) stated in the past, supply has always dictated demand, whereas today the reverse is true. Increasing saturation of the market and more self-assertive consumers, with more free disposable income and leisure time, determine the profitability of suppliers in the tourism sector. Deregulation amongst many worldwide airlines has allowed cheaper travel to be emerging, to create cheap flights to short haul destinations.
Europe is amongst many countries that have seen a rise in city breaks and short duration holidays. The market for all short breaks abroad for the UK (in number of trips) was 5.8 million in 2002 showing short breaks increasing at a much faster speed than holidays in general. Mintel Intelligence estimates that the volume of short breaks abroad will reach 7.1 million by 2004, a rise of 65% since 1999. According to the International Air Transport Association (2003 cited in a mintel report 2003) 176 million passengers flew with low fare airlines in 1999 and the report suggested the market would grow to 215 million in 2003, reflecting an average annual growth of 5.1%. The introduction of low fare airlines helped employees to consume cheap and flexible travel to fit in with the demanding hours of work.
National Statistics (2003) states it is becoming increasing common for many to take several short breaks rather than just one two week break in the summer. Stating the proportion taking two or more holidays has increased from 15 percent in 1971 to 25 per cent in 1998.
According to Gratton and Taylor (1996) despite the squeeze on leisure time, expenditure on leisure goods and services continues to rise reflecting the growth in Personal Disposable Income. This might suggest a 'work-hard, play-hard' culture, or simply a desire to make the best use of a limited amount of leisure time. The evidence suggests that the UK’s largest areas of expenditure are on eating and drinking out of the home and holidays, while the fastest growing are home computers, television equipment and holidays abroad supports this.
The boom in commercial health and fitness clubs are traced back to the longer and more stressful working hours. National Statistics show that there has been a spectacular growth in leisure activities involving an individual de-stressing. Stress has reached epidemic proportions and is the greatest health hazard facing developed countries. A new EU study states nearly one in three workers in Europe are suffering from stress, costing industry €20bn (£13bn). Ongoing pressures and stress fuel the need to recover one's well being in a relaxing atmosphere removed from everyday environments. (). Yoga for instance is an activity that incorporates a mental element and promotes stress or tension release through relaxation techniques. The Sport Industry Research Centre predicts keep-fit/yoga sector, which is dominated by participation in classes, is projected to double in size over the period 1997-2007. It also reveals that the vast majority of this growth has already taken place, with the number of keep-fit/yoga activity days having increased by 86% between 1997 and 2003.
A Mintel report states that more and more travellers are looking for opportunities to slow down, unplug from the demands of daily life, and regain their sense of well-being. Trends have seen an increase in relaxation holidays with Spa resorts becoming very increasingly popular. According to the European Travel Monitor (ETM), health-oriented holidays account for over 15% of the total European international holiday market. The number of spa establishments has grown 20% annually over the past eight years. A 2002 Spa Industry Study, conducted by the ISPA, the spa industry has positioned itself to be a major player in the tourism sector. In the past two years, the spa industry has kept pace with, and even surpassed, other major top leisure activities in terms of revenues.
It has been established that the work ethic has changed over the decades, in today’s modern society the concept of work “…values the importance of work, to the identity and sense of worth of an individual”. However the importance of work around the globe differ dramatically. The amount one works is related closely to the leisure one receives. Research suggests that Europe (excluding the UK) is amongst the least industrialised nations to be working in comparison to Japan or the USA. Again although working hours may differ one may presume paid holidays would be averaging at the same. However this is very far from reality since France enjoy twenty-three days more than the USA, though France works two hundred and seventy days less than America. Therefore it remains explicable that leisure time around the world varies. Although a minority are not taking their full-entitled holidays, many employees are. Tourism trends are emerging, indicating many are enjoying several short breaks alongside a main holiday, which descends nicely around work Yet signs of improved technology also indicate that some workers have not completely left the office since many remain wired via telephone, email or Internet. Those that are able to escape require a de-stressing holiday or activity, requiring a therapeutic holiday rather than just the norm. Governments around the world are trying to promote flexible working patterns to employers and employees, by helping both parties to distinguish the benefits. Factors needed for better operation include: accurate assessment of work volume and working hours; enhancement of measures to maintain health and welfare; clearly defined scope and objectives of work; implementation of proper performance evaluation; and self-management by workers. (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2004).
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