Work and Leisure

228 John T. Haworth and A. J. Vealhours as a macro-economic policy have been successful only in France.‘Going it alone’ was seen as extremely risky in a globally competitiveenvironment, and the results to date appear not to have delivered the hoped-forreductions in unemployment.Whether or not governments should intervene in this way is a political aswell as social and economic issue. ‘Labour market reform’ in the currenteconomic and political climate is generally seen as involving deregulationrather than imposition of, for example, controls on working hours. But aswith labour market reforms in the past, what may appear immediatelyattractive to individual firms may not be beneficial to the market and societyas a whole or in the long term. A pattern of work and leisure whichleads to high levels of stress among some employees and underemployment,with its attendant social problems, among others, hardly seems ideal or inanyone’s long-term interest. An informed consideration of issues surroundingwell-being, individual and collective choices in work and leisure, isincreasingly required, to which it is hoped this book will significantlycontribute.Note1 Papers relating to the seminars are on the website www.wellbeing-esrc.com. Thereare also key links to other sites concerned with well-being and Positive Psychology.The website will be available for interaction until 2006, and additional materialcan be emailed to haworthjt@yahoo.com. The series, and related publications,show the importance of considering societal, environmental and individual factorsin considering well-being. Several of the points on well-being made in thischapter were discussed in the seminars and are summarised on the pages of thewebsite.ReferencesBryce, J. and Haworth, J. T. (2002) Wellbeing and flow in a sample of male and femaleoffice workers. Leisure Studies 21: 249–63.Clarke, J. and Critcher, C. (1985) The Devil Makes Work: Leisure in Capitalist Britain.London: Macmillan.Cohen, J. and Rogers, J. (eds) (2000) Do Americans Shop Too Much? Boston, MA:Beacon Press.Delle Fave, A. and Massimini, F. (2003) Optimal experience in work and leisureamong techers and physicians: individual and bio-cultural implications. LeisureStudies 22(4): 323–42.Donovan, N., Halpern, D. and Sargeant, R. (2002) Life Satisfaction: The State ofKnowledge and Implications for Government. London: Cabinet Office.Ferdman, B. M. (1999) The color and culture of gender in organizations: attending torace and ethnicity. In G. N. Powell (ed.) Handbook of Gender and Work. London:Sage.Gershuny, J. (2000) Changing Times: Work and Leisure in Postindustrial Society.Oxford: Oxford University Press.