Maharashtra Residents Spending More Time Working, Less On Learning & Socialising, Reveals Time Use Survey 2024
Mumbai: The Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024, conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has revealed that people in Maharashtra are dedicating significantly more time to employment, resulting in a noticeable dip in hours spent on learning, socialising, and self-care.
According to the findings, Maharashtra residents spend an average of 469 minutes per day on work-related activities, well above the national average of 440 minutes. This marks a sharp rise from the 440 minutes reported during the last survey in 2019.
The survey also exposes a marked gender disparity in time allocation. Men spend an average of 500 minutes on employment and related work, while women allocate 395 minutes. However, this gap flips in the case of unpaid domestic services. Women dedicate an average of 281 minutes daily to tasks like cooking, cleaning, and shopping for the household—over three times more than the 90 minutes spent by men.
A similar trend exists in unpaid caregiving services, such as childcare and elder care. Women spend 127 minutes a day on these tasks, compared to just 71 minutes by men.
Interestingly, both these categories saw a slight dip since 2019. Time spent on unpaid domestic work dropped from 242 minutes to 239 minutes, while caregiving fell from 112 minutes to 106 minutes.
The steepest fall was observed in unpaid volunteer work and training, which includes community service and unpaid internships. Time devoted to these activities declined from 151 minutes to 116 minutes.
The survey also highlights a reduction in time spent on learning, which includes formal education and tutoring, dropping from 434 minutes in 2019 to 415 minutes. Similarly, socialising and community participation dipped from 145 minutes to 132 minutes.
Minor Rise In Time Spent On Leisure & Cultural Activities
On a positive note, time spent on leisure and cultural activities, including sports, hobbies, and media consumption, saw a minor rise, from 164 minutes to 167 minutes. However, self-care time (including sleeping, eating, and hygiene) slightly declined, from 715 minutes to 709 minutes per day.
The TUS offers a comprehensive look into how people divide their time across activities, providing key insights for shaping future policies around employment, gender equity, education, and social well-being. Maharashtra’s latest data shows a growing work-centric lifestyle, potentially at the cost of overall well-being and personal development.
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