With instant communications connecting people 24/7, heavier workloads, and more media and entertainment choices than ever, many people in developed countries are feeling chronically short of time. In fact, between two-fifths and three-fifths of adults in leading industrialized nations rate themselves as “time poor” . That’s not so in the developing countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where people are more likely to find they have too much time on their hands, according to the latest survey data .
In the United States, 44% of men and 42% of women feel “time poor”; in the U.K., it’s 37% percent of both men and women. Among Australians, 49% of men and 45% of women feel short of time, and in the Netherlands, the figures jump to 59% of men and 61% of women. Adding to the sense of pressure in these countries is a feeling that they are not just time poor, but also cash poor. Survey respondents who consider themselves in the enviable position of being “cash rich, time rich” account for just 12% of men and 10% of women in the U.S. sample, 8% of men and 7% of women in the U.K., 8% of men and 9% of women in Australia, and 12% of men and 8% of women in the Netherlands.
The surveys, commissioned by JWT, took respondents through a series of questions about their use of time and how they would like to spend it differently. It seems the world would be in better shape if time were to become more available: Substantial proportions of respondents in all four developed markets said they would be in better physical condition if they had more time. That includes 38% of men and 39% of women in the U.S., 35% of men and 45% of women in the U.K., 47% of men and 60% of women in Australia, and 32% of men and 33% of women in the Netherlands.
In stark contrast to JWT’s findings in industrialized countries, a separate, smaller-scale survey carried out by AMRB across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Lebanon found that people had little desire for extra time. In fact, a widespread preoccupation was not about finding the time to do things, but, rather, about finding things to do to fill one’s time. Whereas the enemy in the developed world is overwork and stress, in MENA, its boredom.
“There’s a striking difference in the way people in industrialised countries experience time compared with our respondents here in the Middle East and North Africa—although, of course, there are exceptions in both places,” said Marian Salzman, EVP of Strategic Content at JWT. “From observation, anecdotal evidence, and our surveys, it’s clear the ‘time poor’ feeling is
growing all over the world. But from the Middle East and North Africa survey, the signs are that people here feel they have too much time on their hands rather than too little. This has major implications for marketers.
The survey shows that the time squeeze of modern living is leaving many people feeling they don’t spend enough time with the people who matter to them. In the developed-markets surveys, respondents were given a notional “time wallet” of 1,000 currency units (dollars/pounds/euros) to be spent on a range of listed activities. High up on the spending priorities of most respondents was “spending quality time with your kids, members of your extended family, or friends.” It was the top item in the U.S., U.K., Netherlands, and Australia (98, 91,106, and 143 currency-minutes were devoted to it, respectively). Once again, this contrasts with the Middle East and North Africa region, where people are inclined to spend less time with their nearest and dearest, not more. Most MENA respondents are aware of time dragging during social calls or when visiting relatives as part of their social obligations. Yet they are also concerned that if they spend less time doing the family rounds, they will not have an alternative activity to occupy their time.
“The differences look very sharp, but it may well be that people in industrialised countries and the MENA sample are merely at different places on the same continuum. People everywhere are pulled between the desire to belong and feel connections with others on one hand, and the desire for autonomy and self-expression on the other. It’s the balance between collectivism and individualism,” commented Roy Haddad, Chief Executive Officer at JWT. “In some markets, people have plenty of opportunities to fill their time with a huge range of activities. Now many have tilted the balance strongly toward autonomy, and they’re missing the comfort of belonging. At the other extreme, in the MENA region, social, environmental, and development factors are such that people habitually spend a lot of time with extended family and have far fewer other possible activities from which to choose. It’s no wonder, then, that they’re keen to have more opportunities for autonomy and self-expression.”
“The differences between Western nations and countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa go far beyond religion and politics, as these surveys have made clear,” said Haddad. “The tempo of everyday life is different, and that has significant implications for our industry. People the world over want entertaining and engaging brand experiences. But for people in more developed markets, the experiences have to be concentrated in time—they are likely to resent brand experiences that impinge on their personal time. In developing regions such as the Middle East and North Africa, consumers are more likely to respond to brand experiences that fill their time.”
About JWT
JWT’s heritage of brand-building excellence extends back to 1864, making us the world’s oldest advertising agency brand. Today we rank as the fourth largest global agency and the largest U.S. agency. In 1939, JWT pioneered the first national consumer research panel. In 1988, we created the first research study of consumer lifestyles, “Lifestages.” We believe in being anthropologists first, advertising people second.
