‘The use of bodily or mental power in order to make something;
Employment; be employed.’
A good way of defining work is through a capitalist perspective which would see work as the selling of individual’s time and labour power to industry.
In terms of leisure, Haywood et al (1995) inform us that we should view it not as a definition but as a paradigm with different contexts; these being:
- Leisure as residual time;
- Leisure as activity;
- Leisure as function;
- Leisure as freedom.
What is gained from this framework is that leisure isn’t a simple concept that is freely defined, it has many complexities and different meanings for each individual. For example, the activity of watching TV may be used by one person as a means of education through a documentary (leisure as a function), but for someone else it may be used as they have nothing else to do with their time (leisure as residual time). The word ‘leisure’ is one of the most heavily contested terms in current sociological debates, the safest place to define it is from The Oxford Dictionary again. It is described simply as free time from work, where a person is free to choose what they want to do. Clark et al take an interesting perspective on this in terms of the work leisure couplet by pointing out that:
Leisure seems to offer the prospect of being all those things
that work is not: the source of satisfactions, gratifications
and pleasures. Where work is the realm of dull compulsion,
leisure represents freedom, choice and creativity’
This shows work and leisure couplet as extremes of structure and agency, and is arguably a rather radical view which doesn’t take into account that many individuals can achieve some of the feelings Clark et say are from leisure, from their work.
Another definition that needs to be covered is that of unemployment. With the many dimensions to the topic and current government literature stating who is and who isn’t unemployed, it can become quite confusing. Hayes et al (1981) however, have defined the term of Unemployment as:
‘A state of worklessness experienced by people who see themselves
or are seen by others as potential members of the workforce
[where work means paid employment]’
The final term of identity can be seen as the characteristics that make an individual who they are, for example the clothes they wear, the places they go and specific to the dissertation, what leisure activities they involve themselves in.
There are a number of key themes appearing from the literature sources being studied, firstly, as with the majority of British Leisure studies, there is a heavy concentration upon a broad social dimension, with a lack of research on the effects on the individual. Hayes and Nutman were aware of this in 1981 when they wrote:
‘…publications on the unemployed have tended to ignore the
individual as if he/she were merely an anonymous statistic’
This is something that is expected to come out of the research, that the participants (pp) may feel like they have simply been added to a long list of statistics and this is contributing to a feeling of social unimportance, ie a lack of concentration on the individual.
Glyptis takes a critical approach to leisure acting as a work substitute. She asks whether to experience leisure in its fullest, there needs to be a contrast of paid work to act as a standing ground from which to appreciate free time. She also notes that initially, unemployment can have positive aspects. This however is only an initial feeling and from a post modern perspective can be attributed to a state of ‘hyper-reality’. Statistically, unemployed males will spend up to a third of their time in solitude, with a disproportionate amount of this time immersed in TV viewing. This is the reason for studying the long-term unemployed, as any novelty of unemployment should have worn off. The following table is sited in Glyptis (1989) but is adapted from Clark ‘Work in Crisis’ (1982). It shows the effects of unemployment over time. As it is clear to see over time people do become withdrawn from society. Based upon the idea of ‘loss of social contacts’, Glyptis is inferring that unemployment can mean a person is unlikely to become involved in leisure activities.
The Government under Tony Blair introduced a scheme in January 1998 to encourage people to conform to a 300-year-old protestant work ethic that we still adhere to today (Clark et al 1985), by guiding individuals who are out of work for more than 6 months into the New Deal scheme. This in itself, is not only acting to prepare young adults for the world of work by equipping them with experience and qualification, but also:
‘Aim(s) to tackle individual and social consequences of unemployment,
helping to prevent people becoming part of an underclass,
detached from the world of work and the communities around them’
Lakey et al (2001)
From a personal experience of involvement with the New Deal scheme through work with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV), it was noted that the majority of work involved could provide the identity that was missing for the individuals involved.
Cited in the International Review for the sociology of Sport Journal (IRSS 1991) Glyptis looks at leisure benefits for the unemployed but asks if the loss of incomes, social contacts and status, stigma and loss of confidence inhibit leisure opportunities. The dissertation however will argue that if constructive leisure is achieved that the above will not be allowed to develop.
Methodology
To enable the research question to be answered accurately, there will be a case study using triangulation from the following methods:
(i) Focus group interviews of no more than 6 and no fewer than 4 pp
(ii) Semi structured one to one interviews with 3 or 4 of the focus group, depending on the final size of the focus group.
(iii) A critique of information from published literature sources
From these, the research will be concluded from a variety of sources increasing the likelihood of arriving at a sociologically correct conclusion.
The focus group will accessed through the Leeds Leisure Services ‘Action Sport Group’, and the semi structured one to one interviews will be with a select group of pps from the focus group who are of interest to the study and are willing to give up a little more time. This style of research has its advantages according to Howitt and Cramer (2000). They point out those being interviewed may lack in literacy skills, so an approach like this which requires no reading writing will not eliminate anyone from joining debates as well as not restricting the pps to answering from a given range of alternatives. The pps may also be more inclined to answer questions due to the greater involvement of time and effort by the interviewer.
All those involved with the research will be over the age of 18, unemployed for a minimum of 6 month and live in the Leeds area. The fact that they will be unemployed for over 6 months infers that they will be involved in the New Deal scheme and as such should be involved in some kind of work based learning.
Analysis of the data will be done by colour coding the qualitative data received into set categories. This will be done by highlighting the typed up scripts from the interviews in accordance with set categories for the ways work has been substituted by leisure eg ‘feelings of organisation’. The codes will be linked to the received theory and then will be critiqued. Finally a distinct personal conclusion will be formed.
There is a question over the possibility of asking the pps to keep a Time-Space diary in that it would prove very useful to see on paper what the pps are doing with their spare time but first of all, will it be filled in, and if so, will it be filled in truthfully? Validity of the results may be detrimentally effected by the use of such data.
The research will be conducted over a compact space of time during school week (3-7 Feb) which will leave time for the discussion to be developed(see timetable).
Timetable
*to be carried out during intersemester week
Ethical & Resource Considerations
A number of issues must be considered before research is to be conducted in the field. A risk assessment has been conducted to assess what these are and can found in the appendix. A generic guide is given by Howitt et al (2000) stating three main issues that should be taken into account in the area of ethics:
(i) The consent of participants in research;
(ii) Protecting participants from psychological or physical harm;
(iii) Consultation with colleagues and more experienced researchers.
These themes are to be developed as the dissertation takes form.
Indicative References
Clark, J. & Critcher, C. (1985). The Devil Makes Work. London McMillan
Cryer, P. (1996). The Research Student’s Guide to Success. Open University Press
Deem, R.. (1988). Work, Unemployment and Leisure. London Routledge
Fern, E. (2001). Advanced Focus Group Research. Sage Publications
Glyptis, S. (1989). Leisure and Unemployment. Milton Keynes Open University Press
Hayes, J. & Nutman, P. (1981). Understanding the Unemployed. Tavistock Publications
Haywood, L. & Kew, F. & Bramham, P. & Spink, J. Capenerhurst, J. & Henry, I. (1995). Understanding Leisure. 2nd ed. Stanley Thornes Ltd
Howitt, D. & Cramer, D. (2000). First Steps in Research and Statistics. Routledge
Lakey, J. Mukherjee, A. & White, M. (2001). Youth Unemployment, Labour Market Programmes and Health. University of Westminster
Parker, S. (1983). Leisure and Work. George Allen and Unwin
Roberts, K. (1999). Leisure in Contemporary Society. CABI Publishing
Rojek, C. (1993). Ways of Escape. Routledge
Veal, A. (1997). Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism. 2nd ed. Financial Times/Prentice Hall
Journal Articles
Glyptis, S. (1991). Local Authority Sports Provisions for the Unemployed. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. Vol26 (2). p101-107
Winefield, A. (1993). Time Use and Psychological Wellbeing in Unemployed Youngsters. The Journal of Workplace Learning. Vol5 (2).
Web Address
Business: The Economy;UK unemployment falls again (17/11/99) Retrieved 19/10/02 from the world wide web
