Leisure time as a stress factor: Germans not get a rest after work 

The leisure letter, 35

1 October 1984

(incl. graphics if available)

Leisure time as a stress factor: Germans don't get to relax after work

What many have previously only associated with work or school obviously also exists in leisure time: stress. According to a new representative survey by the BAT Leisure Research Institute, two thirds (65 %) of the population over the age of 14 complain that they "feel under pressure or stressed", especially in leisure situations involving crowds, queuing or waiting. Almost as many (62 %) feel the need for rest and relaxation after work or at the weekend, "but are disturbed by others", especially by their own family. This is because the 3 and 4-person households (70 % and 64 % respectively) feel most disturbed in their after-work rest, and the one-person households (52 %) the least.

According to the BAT survey, the leisure time trend towards more socialising (visits and invitations have doubled in the last thirty years) must now also be reassessed. Every second German citizen (54 %) is gradually finding "obligatory visits" too much, i.e. private invitations are seen as an obligation "that must be honoured". This view is held above all by city dwellers (59 %) in towns with over 100,000 inhabitants, employees and civil servants (63 %) as well as the self-employed and liberal professions (65 %).

Every second city dweller (53 %) in towns with over 100,000 inhabitants complains about noise pollution from third parties in their leisure time (e.g. at sporting events, funfairs, street festivals), which is less annoying in the countryside (in towns with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants) (40 %). And every second German over the age of 50 (51 %) is annoyed by constant exposure to music - in contrast to the Walkman generation of 14 to 19-year-olds, where only one in four (26 %) register stress symptoms. It is hardly surprising that traffic jams on weekend and holiday journeys are additional stress factors.

In the opinion of the BAT leisure researchers, the concept of stress must be reconsidered and expanded in the scientific debate. Professor Dr Opaschowski: "We know that constant performance demands, class tests or the "blue letter" to parents can cause stress at school. We know that physical and nervous work overload, time and deadline pressure or fear of unemployment can cause threatening stress situations. Leisure stress, on the other hand, is the accumulation of comparatively small physical and psychological stresses that are constantly repeated and cause stress in the long term: Activity stress when jogging or cross-country skiing, contact stress in the clique or in company, noise stress at parties or mass events. The stress levels here are more subtle and often self-imposed. Many people find it difficult to manage their time economically, to set themselves limits and to do nothing at times. Who can "relax and unwind" at the weekend?

According to a new study by the BAT Leisure Research Institute, more leisure time does not automatically mean more rest and relaxation for many German citizens. Crowds at leisure events, compulsory visits, traffic jams and disturbances caused by others put a strain on their own leisure time experience and create a new type of stress in the midst of a flood of contacts, leisure activities and non-stop hustle and bustle: "leisure stress".

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