Time Bomb: Work, Rest and Play in Australia Today

Relevant and sharp, this record turns a careful eye to the issue of time poverty, throwing light on poor urban planning, workplace policies, and other sociopolitical issues that rob working families of time. While maximizing productivity and enhancing professional skills, Australians must raise their children, care for their elderly, be involved in their communities, and shrink their carbon footprints. This book investigates what it costs Australian families to do it all: how men’s time is taken up by work, crowding out their capacity to care, and how women struggle to strike a balance between professional ambition and household obligations. It also investigates how work impacts the response to the greatest concern of the 21st century—the planet’s sustainability.

Barbara Pocock is the inaugural director of the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia. Natalie Skinner is a research fellow at the Centre for Work + Life, managing the Australian Work and Life Index. Philippa Williams is a research fellow at the Centre for Work + Life, managing the Work, Home, and Community Project.