Swiss lack time to enjoy their wealth

Over half of those surveyed regret not having travelled enough or gone on an adventure. Keystone

Despite Switzerland having one of the highest per capita financial assets, 90% of Swiss adults complain about not having enough time to do what is important to them.

The Swiss may be the second-richest people on earth, but all that wealth comes at a price. Five hours for meals and leisure, seven hours to sleep, one hour to commute to work, eight hours on the job and three hours for housework and paperwork: the daily grind leaves little time to stand and stare. 

This timetable prevents them from participating in sports, spending time with friends, relaxing, learning to play an instrument or picking up a new language. Over half of almost 8,000 citizens surveyed by the Sotomo research institute regret not having travelled enough or gone on an adventure. 

A lack of time to do the things they love leads to stress. Two-thirds of adults say they are regularly stressed because of a lack of time. Women are particularly prone to this kind of stress with 35% often or almost always in a state of stress, compared with a quarter of men surveyed. 

Not surprisingly, work was blamed by most (29%) for eating into leisure hours. If they had a choice, two-thirds would like to reduce working hours for more free time. However, a third also blamed a combination of television, internet and “doing nothing” for sucking up valuable free time.