Time-use research is an interdisciplinary field of study dedicated to learning how people allocate their time during an average day. Work intensity is the umbrella topic that incorporates time use, specifically time poverty.
The comprehensive approach to time-use research addresses a wide array of political, economic, social, and cultural issues through the use of time-use surveys. Surveys provide geographic data and time diaries that volunteers record using GPS technology and time diaries. Time-use research investigates human activity inside and outside the paid economy. It also looks at how these activities change over time.
Time-use research is not to be confused with time management. Time-use research is a social science interested in human behavioural patterns and seeks to build a body of knowledge to benefit a wide array of disciplines interested in how people use their time. Time management is an approach to time allocation with a specific managerial purpose aimed at increasing the efficiency or effectiveness of a given process.
Questions relating to time-use research arise in most professional and academic disciplines, notably:
- urban planning and urban design (how does community design impact people's use of time?)
- transportation planning (what groups use active transportation and public transit?)
- social work (how do people maintain social relationships and who is more likely to spend time alone?)
- recreation and active living (which groups are more physically active?)
- information technology (what role does information technology play in people's daily lives?)
- feminist economics (how does non-market work affect gender inequality and economic well-beings in our society?)