Leisure represents a domain in which individual choice and autonomy are maximized. Given that perceptions of quality of life among consumers are closely tied to consumption in personal domains, leisure can thus be considered a critical determinant of ...
Leisure represents a domain in which individual choice and autonomy are maximized. Given that perceptions of quality of life among consumers are closely tied to consumption in personal domains, leisure can thus be considered a critical determinant of happiness. Discussions of leisure should necessarily take work into account, as both work and leisure are major domains within an individual's life, and they are mutually substitutive given the finite nature of personal resources. Therefore, in order to enhance individual happiness, it is essential to pay attention to the relationship between work and leisure and to allocate resources between these domains strategically.
Recent studies addressing the work-leisure relationship have increasingly emphasized the necessity and significance of the concept of work-leisure facilitation. Employed women, who often experience dual burdens from both market and non-market labor, tend to face frequent time pressure. Thus, it is imperative to explore ways to promote strategic resource allocation between work and leisure for this population.
Against this backdrop, the present study examines the relationship between work and leisure from a consumption perspective, and empirically investigates work-leisure facilitation among employed women. The study identifies leisure consumption patterns among employed women and assesses the relationships among leisure consumption characteristics, leisure satisfaction, and job satisfaction. Moreover, the study calculates a Synergy Index to verify the synergistic effect of the interaction between leisure satisfaction and job satisfaction on happiness. Panel data from the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women & Families(KLoWF) were used, encompassing the seventh wave in 2018, the eighth wave in 2020, and the ninth wave in 2022.
Findings are as follows:
First, variables representing leisure consumption among employed women generally exhibited trends of steady increase, decrease, or maintenance, followed by an increase around 2020. While variables related to leisure time consistently increased in average value, those related to leisure expenditure hit their lowest average in 2020.
Second, leisure consumption behaviors varied according to individual socio-demographic and occupational characteristics of employed women. Two main patterns emerged: those with lower weekday leisure time and sufficiency, but higher weekend leisure time and leisure expenditures, tended to be younger, highly educated, high-income, and possessed stable job characteristics. This pattern aligns with a 'goods-consuming leisure' type, where monetary resources are allocated to leisure in exchange for greater time commitment to work. Conversely, those with higher weekday leisure time and sufficiency, but lower weekend leisure time and leisure expenditures, tended to be older, less educated, lower-income, and in less stable job positions. This aligns with a 'time-consuming leisure' type, where time resources, rather than monetary resources, are primarily devoted to leisure.
Third, characteristics of leisure consumption had significant effects on both leisure satisfaction and two distinct dimensions of job satisfaction: development and capital. Consistent findings across all survey years included weekday leisure time negatively affecting capital satisfaction, while weekend leisure time had a positive effect. This may be attributed to the fragmentation of leisure time due to the time pressures experienced by employed women. Leisure time sufficiency positively influenced both leisure satisfaction and job satisfaction dimensions. Regarding leisure expenditure, the amount spent per leisure activity had a positive effect on leisure satisfaction, whereas the proportion of leisure expenditure to total income had a negative effect. In terms of leisure types, satisfaction was higher in all non-rest activities compared to resting, and job satisfaction, particularly in the capital dimension, was higher for sports than for resting.
Interestingly, the analysis of 2020 data revealed several anomalies:
wherein the relationships among variables were observed to be opposite to those in the preceding (2018) and subsequent (2022) time points. Specifically, this pattern appeared in the variables of leisure frequency, per-occasion leisure expenditure, and type of leisure activity. In 2018 and 2022, job satisfaction across both dimensions was significantly higher when leisure activities were engaged in daily; however, in 2020, job satisfaction in both dimensions was higher when leisure participation was less frequent than daily. In a similar vein, while per-occasion leisure expenditure had a negative effect on resource-related job satisfaction in 2018 and 2022, it showed a positive effect in 2020. Regarding leisure type, compared to relaxation, leisure satisfaction and resource-related job satisfaction were significantly higher for tourism activities in 2018 and 2022, whereas in 2020, these indicators were significantly lower for tourism activities.
Panel analyses across the three waves found that weekend leisure time, leisure time sufficiency, leisure frequency, leisure expenditure, and active types of leisure positively influenced leisure satisfaction. For job satisfaction, the proportion and sufficiency of leisure time, as well as leisure type, consistently influenced both development and capital dimensions. However, leisure time, frequency, and expenditure influenced the two dimensions in opposite directions; that is, development satisfaction could be enhanced by increasing leisure frequency and expenditure rather than absolute leisure time, whereas capital satisfaction increased with more leisure time and reduced frequency and expenditure.
Together, annual- and panel-level findings indicate that the influence of leisure consumption characteristics on leisure and job satisfaction was broadly similar across time points. However, some variables, such as weekend leisure time and expenditure ratio, showed dynamic patterns across individual years, suggesting the need for further long-term and comparative analysis of these variables.
Fourth, the mediating effect of leisure satisfaction in the relationship between leisure consumption characteristics and job satisfaction was statistically significant. This demonstrates work-leisure facilitation, in that skills, perspectives, psychological and physical resources, and social capital gained from leisure participation can positively affect the work domain. Moreover, the positive transfer from leisure to work suggests that not only does leisure consumption itself improve job satisfaction, but leisure satisfaction must also be considered in understanding this relationship.
Fifth, both leisure satisfaction and the two dimensions of job satisfaction exerted a positive influence on happiness among employed women, with synergy effects observed between leisure satisfaction and each dimension of job satisfaction. This implies that while pursuing either leisure or job satisfaction individually can enhance happiness, their concurrent pursuit can further amplify overall happiness.
The theoretical and practical implications of this study are as follows.
First, this research empirically examined work-leisure facilitation among employed women from a consumption perspective, whereas prior research predominantly focused on work-leisure conflict or work-life balance. Specifically, by analyzing the relationships among leisure consumption characteristics, leisure satisfaction, and job satisfaction, this study verifies the positive transfer and facilitation effects between work and leisure. Additionally, by distinguishing job satisfaction into development and capital dimensions, the study offers a more nuanced understanding of how leisure consumption impacts various aspects of work-leisure facilitation.
Second, unlike previous studies that measured work-leisure facilitation via survey items, this research utilized secondary panel data to analyze the relevant variable relationships empirically. By verifying the synergy effects between leisure and job satisfaction, this study confirms the positive influence of work-leisure facilitation on quality of life for employed women. Further, it identifies the magnitude of additional synergy generated.
Third, the study offers concrete implications for which aspects of leisure consumption should be considered in order to enhance leisure and job satisfaction among employed women. The data indicated that while rest was the most common leisure activity, satisfaction levels for rest were the lowest across leisure satisfaction, job satisfaction, and happiness. Therefore, in seeking to enhance both leisure and job satisfaction, leisure types such as cultural, artistic, or sports activities should be prioritized. Resource allocation between cost and frequency of leisure can further be optimized depending on which dimension of job satisfaction is more valued by the individual.
The following considerations are provided for future research.
First, this study was limited to the three survey waves that included key questions on leisure consumption, and notably, the eighth and ninth waves may strongly reflect the situational particularity of the COVID-19 pandemic. Follow-up research with a longer time series could better encompass pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic contexts.
Second, similar to other studies on work-leisure relations, this study established causality based on a focused review of prior research in areas of most significant interest to the researcher. However, since the relationship between work and leisure may be organically interlinked and can differ by direction of causality, this study used panel mediation analysis with time lags to minimize reverse causality, and future studies could further clarify these directions via cross-validation with other data sources.