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But What Do You Do For Fun?

A common ice-breaking question to initiate conversation is “So, what do you do?” What the person asking the question is really inquiring is what they do “for a living” – not what do they do for fun.

Several recent studies have confirmed what we all already know. Leisure time – the time to relax or simply do what you want to do, rather than what you have to do is on a serious decline. For some people, it is virtually non-existent. A distant memory, if that memory exists at all. At one time, weekends were the time to recharge your batteries, relax, have some fun and get ready for Monday and another week of work. But from Fridays at 5 p.m., until Mondays at 9 a.m., the “to-do” lists have grown steadily and what used to be leisure time is now the time used to do chores, errands, cleaning and “catching up”. Being wired via computer and cell phone – the ability to be reached 24/7 doesn’t sync with the term “down time”.

In Juliet Schor’s book, “The Overworked American”, she points out that over the past 20+ years that the typical worker is steadily spending more and more time at their jobs. For nearly one hundred years the workload had been declining, but that has now reversed. In European countries, the opposite is true: the expectation of the number of weekly hours an employee is expected to spend on their job has declined. Two months of vacation time per year is common versus two weeks off a year for Americans. Priorities are different. For Americans, the benefits of working more hours and overtime are clear: more money, promotions and better job offers.

Ironically, I have had several clients come to me recently expressing the desire to leave the corporate “grind” and are looking for jobs that promise “fun”. Now, the idea of work and fun in the same sentence may not sound remotely possible - or professional. But there are jobs and careers that definitely fall into that category. And then again, “fun” may simply be in the “eye of the beholder”. There are now several websites that are dedicated specifically to helping people search for jobs in those less traditional areas. More adventurous. Offbeat. Not surprising, but many of the jobs revolve around travel. Positions with cruise ships. (The employees on The Love Boat were always having fun!) Tour guides. Camp counselors. Writing for a travel publication. Wrangler at a mountain ranch. Reviewing movies or restaurants. Locating sites for the film industry. Working in the fashion or beauty industry. Or how about becoming an apprentice for the Trump Organization? A chef at a ski resort or spa. To many they sound exotic, fun, rewarding and challenging. To others (especially many people doing those jobs!) they are still “just” jobs and work filled with responsibility, bosses and performance evaluations.

There’s an expression that states, “do what you love and the money will follow”. Or, “if you truly love what you do, and how you spend your time, it won’t seem like work at all”. But the one expression that has many concerned lately has been akin to, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” People do “burn out”. Their batteries do need recharging. Work without play is unhealthy. If a companies best employees burn out and go elsewhere, the company will be in jeopardy and have to seek new talented employees. Nobody wins.

As important as it is to pack the sunscreen and sandals, people don’t dare leave their cell phones and laptops at home. When people are unable to check their email from a vacation spot, panic sets in and they fear that something important is going on and if they don’t know about it or they can’t respond, their jobs may be in jeopardy.

How do you define leisure? Can you – will you – stop and smell the roses?

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