Abstract
The PEA (pondering of everyday activities) of Homo otiosus, leisure man, diverges from that of Homo faber, for it relates to how we see life in our free time, time as devoted neither to the need to work (devotee work being the principal exception) nor to undertake non-work chores. Leisure is defined. Then diverse leisure concerns that encourage PEA are considered, among them, those that are economic, time-related, cultural, and health-related and involve the family. Furthermore, PEA revolves around different interests as leisure participants go through the life course, doing so especially at critical turning points. Some life course turning points, though they originate in non-leisure circumstances, can still have an impact on leisure pursuits. For some leisure participants, part of their PEA consists of anticipating a career in devotee work. This begins with Homo otiosus while pursuing a serious leisure activity. Contemplation is another avenue for PEA.
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- 1.
This, the most recent version of this definition, is a modification of Stebbins (2012, p. 4). I have modified it by incorporating devotee work.
- 2.
For example, Julian Beltrame writes that more than 60 percent of Canadians have no company-based pension plan. Moreover, today’s low interest rates on safe government bonds may be too low to keep up with inflation. Julian Beltrame, Retirees Face Dramatic Drop in Standard of Living, Calgary Herald, Sunday 1 July 2012, F1. In the United States many employees with public-sector pension plans face substantial reductions in benefits, as well as an increased age at which the benefits will be available (The Economist, Burning Fast (21 June 2012), p. 34).
- 3.
BlackRock, Inc. is an investment firm. See www2.blackrock.com/content/groups/global/documents/literature/blk_dc_survey.pdf, 28 May 2012. See also the following editorial: The Road to Retirement, The New York Times, 15 September 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/opinion/sunday/the-road-to-retirement.html (16 September 2012).
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Stebbins, R.A. (2020). Leisure. In: Pondering Everyday Life. Leisure Studies in a Global Era. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35922-5_3
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