When Europeans first settled in Australia 42% of their life was devoted to work and only 23% devoted to leisure activities. By 1988 the mix was nearly reversed with 23% work and 38 % leisure.

However, when looking at these figures it is important to look at the number of unpaid hours of household work. This is where the huge difference between men and women lie; women complete the majority of the unpaid hours and men hold 62% of the paid working hours.

The hours of both paid and unpaid work are slowly reducing and it seems as though people are finally getting their sanity back.

What can we look forward to in the future? By 2088 it is expected that only 17% of our lives will be dedicated to work and 46% leisure, with wages being four times higher than in 2006.
(BRW, Feb 9, p27)