The labour of leisure (2010)

Leisure has always been associated with freedom, choice and flexibility. In this book the author turns this shibboleth on its head to demonstrate how leisure has become a form of labour. Modern men and women are required to be competent, relevant and credible, not only in the work place but with their mates, children, parents and communities. The requisite empathy for others, socially acceptable values and correct forms of self-presentation demand work. Much of this work is concentrated in non-work activity, compromising traditional connections between leisure and freedom. In challenging the orthodox understandings of freedom and free time, ‘The Labour of Leisure’ sets out an indispensable new approach to the meaning of leisure.