Jean Viard. “Since the 1950s, we’ve gained 20 years of life and we’re sleeping 3 hours less a night.”

Madame Figaro . – Do we really lack free time?
Jean Viard.– We work 70,000 hours out of 700,000 hours of life. Which means that 10% of our time is working and 5% is devoted to studies. Since the 1950s, we’ve gained twenty years of life and sleep less than 3 hours a night. So we never had so much time to ourselves…

Working hours are decreasing… Really?
There was no time segmentation in the villages before. To live meant to work. We stopped only on Sunday, God’s day. By creating lighted spaces to lengthen the days, the industrial revolution altered these rhythms modeled after nature, but individuals continued to define themselves by their professions. A History of the 20th Century Industrial Age^e century is marked by the reduction of professional hours from 12 hours to 8 hours a day and from 7 to 5 days a week. Retirement before age 60 was established in 1981.

So where does our sense of lack come from?
People have misunderstood one thing: the increase in life expectancy. They said: “When the son sits at the head of the table, the father may die.” Today, when children go, parents still have thirty to forty years left to live. The problem is, sure, life is longer, but we live it in short bursts. We are in a society where obligations have ceased. There is no age to start over. At 60, have an affair, move to Burgundy, change jobs. Hence the feeling of not having enough time to do everything.

Individuals continued to define themselves by their profession

Jean Viard

How to explain this feeling and this expression? : Never run out of your time?
Our hyperactive society has led to an acceleration of the pace. The digital world accompanies us everywhere, and we are constantly being offered something to do. We prefer the moments we get for ourselves. Moreover, Covid has reinforced the blurring of temporalities. By putting 25% of people into remote work, all the rhythms have changed. when do we work? When do we take care of the house? Who will pick up the children from school? Is the second house created for work or relaxation?

Are men and women equal when it comes to free time? ?
As women’s work evolved, they began to have three lives: wife, mother, employee… while a fun proposition was developed for men. This disparity was clearly revealed within 35 hours. Husbands were asking themselves, “What am I going to do with these 4 free hours?”, while women, as usual, faced the trade; Men have invested in hobbies and accumulated motorcycles, flat screens, skateboards… The only thing women have acquired is the evening TV series. This explains why 37% of young graduates and 30% of non-graduates say they don’t want children, compared to 5% a century ago, saying it takes time, like spouses. This makes me say that we are moving towards a society of “singles in love”.

This disenchantment is also affecting older segments of the population and even retirees…
In the past, a grandmother’s role was to take care of her grandchildren. Today, when the first is born, the latter is 55, 60 years old, still works, but continues to take care of 50 percent, especially on holidays. This takes time, even if this social welfare function explains why women are much less bored than men after retirement.

There’s no age to start over like having a love affair in your 60s

Jean Viard

How to restore the feeling of free time?
General acceleration makes us argue for boredom. Emphasize the importance of emptiness, concentration. This explains the popularity of yoga and walking. This re-education requires new behavior. how to turn off the phone? Or only two hours a day? How to travel without sticking your nose to Waze? By asking the right questions, we have the beginnings of an answer.

Jean Viard is a research director and specialist in social times at CNRS and Cevipof (Sciences Po political research center). He is an authorFair appearanceÉditions de l’Aube, 2023.