(584 kb)
(584 kb)
The struggle to juggle work and personal lives is becoming a serious social and health problem in Canada. In 1998, a third of 25- to 44-year-olds identified themselves as workaholics, and half said they felt trapped in a routine with inadequate time to spend with family and friends.
Of those who considered themselves severely stressed for time, men spent an average 9.7 hours and women 9.4 hours working (paid and unpaid) each day. More than one in five women 15 and older felt stressed for time in 1998, a 5% increase from 1992. For men, the proportion was almost one in six, a 4% rise.
Long hours and job stress have been linked to such health problems as depression, unhealthy weight gain, and higher cigarette and alcohol consumption.
For almost all Canadians, relief from time stress ironically comes with time itself: by the age of 65, they reported virtually no time crunch at all.