BHUBANESWAR : People of Odisha are devoting more time to work and less time towards self-care which includes eating, exercising and sleeping. They are spending less time on learning too, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024 report has revealed.
The ministry conducted the second round of the national-level TUS between January and December 2024 while the first round was done back in 2019. The survey collected data of over 50,000 people over a 24-hour time period to record how they spend their day.
As per the survey, the average time spent by the state’s residents on employment and related activities is 415 minutes per day. This is much less than the national average of 440 minutes and marks a small increase from the 411 minutes reported in the 2019 survey.
It further revealed that women are now devoting more time to work as compared to 2019, be it in the formal or informal sector, farming or any other economic activities. While in 2019, they devoted 304 minutes to work a day, it has now significantly increased to 332. As a result, their contribution to ‘unpaid domestic services’ which encompasses cleaning and maintaining the household, preparing meals for family members etc., has decreased from 340 minutes in 2019 to 304 minutes.
Interestingly, the total time spent on both ‘unpaid domestic services’ and ‘unpaid caregiving’ has decreased since 2019. Time spent on ‘unpaid domestic services’ has slightly fallen from 242 minutes in 2019 to 239 minutes, while the time spent on ‘unpaid caregiving services’ has dropped from 112 minutes to 106 minutes.
Both men and women are spending equal time on ‘unpaid caregiving services’ for family members like child care, caring for dependent adults, and assisting other household members.
Amidst employment, domestic work and caregiving responsibilities, learning activities among both men and women and across all age groups (above 6 years of age) has taken a hit in the last five years. Learning includes formal education, non-formal education and engaging in tutoring. The average time spent on ‘learning activities’ has dropped from 458 minutes to 409 minutes.
Similarly, people of the state have been socialising less, with time spent on ‘socialising and communication, participating in social events and religious practices’ decreasing from 146 minutes to 137 minutes. Besides, the time spent on ‘self-care’ has also declined from 741 minutes to 733 minutes.
However, their involvement in ‘culture, leisure, mass media, and sports activities’ has gone up. Time spent on these activities has seen a rise from 174 minutes to 181 minutes.
FINDINGS
Odias spending avg of 415 mins/day on job activities, a small increase from 411 mins reported in 2019
Women now devoting more time to work as compared to 2019
Total time spent on both ‘unpaid domestic services’ and ‘unpaid caregiving’ has decreased since 2019
Both men and women spending equal time towards ‘unpaid caregiving services’
Avg time spent on ‘learning activities’ has dropped from 458 mins to 409 mins