Among top 5 ‘workaholics’ in the country: Gujaratis work 7.5 hours daily to earn living

AHMEDABAD: Amid the corporate chatter of spending more time at the workplace, the Time Use Survey (TUS) of the National Sample Survey (NSS) for 2024 revealed that Gujaratis spent an average of 449 minutes or 7.5 hours daily on employment and related activities .

Among major Indian states, Gujarat, along with Kerala, ranked fifth, with Hary ana leading at 8 hours, Maharashtra at 7.8 hours, and Andhra Pradesh and Punjab at 7.7 hours. The all-India average was 7.3 hours or 440 minutes, according to the survey. The survey revealed urban men and women slogged more than their rural counterparts.
Men in urban areas worked for an average of 8.9 hours or 536 minutes, compared to 7.7 hours or 459 minutes in rural areas. Women in cities worked 6.2 hours against 5.3 hours in rural areas on a daily basis.
The survey also measured time spent on unpaid domestic services for household members, learning, socialising and community activities, and leisure and mass media consumption. Surprisingly, women across urban and rural landscapes put in the same 5.1 hours slogging over unpaid domestic chores in households. For learning, Gujaratis spent 410 minutes daily, which was uniform across genders and areas of residence.
How do Gujaratis fare on work-life balance? The survey revealed people spent an average of 149 minutes or 2.5 hours on socialising, communication, and community activi ties, and 158 minutes or 2.6 hours on culture, leisure, mass media consumption, and sports activities.
In terms of socialising, Gujarat was among the top five states with the highest time dedicated – Nagaland (163 minutes) and Kerala (160 minutes) spent the highest time in the category, which was higher than Gujarat’s 149 minutes.
State-based sociologists said that the time used for various activities primarily denotes what activities are considered most important for a specific society. “Even in the past Time Use Survey conducted in 2000, the state clocked an eight-hour workday,” said the sociologist.
State fared poorly in time spent on culture, leisure and sports
Even in the past Time Use Survey conducted in 2000, the state clocked an eight-hour workday.
However, as the methodologies have changed, the results of last year’s survey cannot be compared directly to this year’s survey.
It should be seen in light of the growing participation of women and reducing the gap between urban and rural areas,” said a sociologist.
The state may want to rethink its approach towards taking it easy as it fared poorly when it came to indulging in culture, leisure, and sports activities.
At 158 minutes, the time spent was much less compared to states which fared the best in this category, namely Uttarakhand (196 minutes) and Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, each at 194 minutes.