What is time poverty?
Time poverty refers to the subjective chronic experience of having too many things to do and not enough time to do them in. While this can affect everyone, both rich and poor, time poverty is mostly associated with people living in poverty who often engage in long hours of low-paid or unpaid work which deprives them of many opportunities and deteriorates their health. Furthermore, women are more susceptible to time poverty than men due to the heavy and disproportionate responsibilities that relate to caregiving (e.g., childcare) and domestic activities (e.g., cooking, cleaning). Take, for example, the fact that women in developed and developing countries spend an average of 2 to 3.4 times more hours per day on unpaid work compared to men. Time poverty can also affect organizations that prioritize busyness and long hours over the quality of work output.
Why does time poverty matter?
Poverty and time poverty are heavily interconnected concepts, thus all assessments of progress in poverty reduction should take time deficits into account. Even if a person meets the minimum of monetary income necessary to avoid material deprivation but faces time deficits, that person will have to purchase market substitutes to fill certain gaps in the household (e.g., paying for daycare). Moreover, time poverty creates stress and can harm mental and physical health as affected individuals have little time for self or medical care. Time poverty prevents women from pursuing educational opportunities, developing skills and capabilities, and earning a decent income. At an organization level, employees who feel time-poor are usually less happy, less productive, and more stressed.
Facts and statistics on time poverty
- On a global level, girls between the ages of 10 and 14 spend 50% more time helping around the house than boys of the same age
- In rural Guinea, for example, women devote an average of 25.6 hours per week to domestic work compared to men’s 7.2 hours while in Guatemala, women spend 3.3 hours per day doing unpaid work compared to men’s 0.9 hours
- The assumption that households with employed members are unlikely to have time deficits is false
- Individuals, organizations, and policymakers often overlook the harmful effects of time poverty
- In 2012, about 50% of working Americans reported that they were “always rushed” and 70% “never had enough time”. By 2015, the proportion of Americans who didn’t have all the time they needed rose to 80%
- People affected by time poverty exercise less, eat fattier foods, and have a higher incidence of heart disease
How to address time poverty
Time poverty represents a threat to the wellbeing and sustainable economic development and thus it deserves the attention of society, scientists, and policy-makers to the same extent as financial poverty. The international community has already developed a number of solutions to reduce time poverty which include:
- Challenging social norms: to remove social tags for household duties that are labeled as “women’s work” by changing the narratives in media, schools, and within families
- Reshaping policies: that will promote the redistribution of household duties among the family members with support from governments and local communities
- Adjusting economic incentives: to obtain equitable and fair pay structures for women
- Investing in infrastructure: to build safe water supplies, labor-saving devices, and adequate transportation to minimize labor and time-intensive tasks
- Cultivate “Time Smart” Leadership: that will recognize time-wasting tasks, will institute time-affluent practices, and will reward employees with time/financial incentives for their results
DevelopmentAid is the leading provider of business intelligence and recruitment tools designed to assist those active in the development sector. Join today and gain access to exclusive information on the upcoming funding opportunities (tenders and grants) from the largest bilateral and multilateral donors.
