Browsing by Author "Antell, Saara"

In the past few decades, free time has increased considerably. And yet leisure has still an ever growing importance for Finnish consumers. Nonetheless, it is not an explicit matter. People experience leisure in different ways. The economic depression has brought forward the leisure practices of unemployed or temporarily laid-off and this is also the basis for my thesis. This thesis is a qualitative research using semi-structured theme-centered interviews to collect the data. Total of 10 consumers, who were or had been laid-off, were interviewed and this data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Temporarily laid-off consumers had three ways of reacting to their status. First group experienced a lot of stress and worry about coping and their future possibilities. Second group, on the other hand, thought of it as an extra holiday during which they could rest and pursue their hobbies. Thirdly, temporal lay-off was seen as a necessary evil: unenjoyable but nonetheless somewhat useful experience. Changes could be observed regarding leisure: daily routines disappeared or changed their importance and social relationships decreased whereas the time with the television increased. This passive leisure showed the importance of activities and being active as a way of coping. Hobbies were an important way to relax and forget. Many temporarily laid-off consumers had problems with their income. Some of them decreased their consumption and begun saving, reconsidering their consumption patterns. On the other hand some turned to impulsive consumption as a means to rebel. As a whole, the shorter the lay-off period, the less it affected consumption. Whichever the case, the changes in consumption during a temporal lay-off had an effect on the surrounding society as well. Leisure, consumption and the reaction to temporal lay-off are strongly linked. Good economical situation is followed by positive reactions and coping as well as active leisure. At the same time positive or negative attitude combined with consumption possibilities have a great effect on leisure activities.