The results of the time use survey conducted by the Federal Statistical Office are integrated into the INFORGE model and initial projections are made for the years up to 2030. The model experiment shows that:

• There is no quid pro quo: if people who are not in employment become employed, more people need to be employed to compensate for the loss of household and care time of those who are not in employment. This applies to both childcare (see also Zika et al. 2024) and care for the elderly.
• Areas of conflict are emerging: increasing working hours coincide with increasing care hours and increasing demand for leisure time. These trends will not be able to continue in the same direction.
• Contradictions: promoting leisure activities (sport, gaming, tourism) while simultaneously promoting employment could lead to opposite effects. More employment means less time for hobbies and sport, and vice versa.
• Wage increases may not be the solution: Rising wages generally mean an increased propensity to work and longer working hours. For some workers, however, the opposite may be true: work-life balance may lead to more leisure time for people with high incomes.
• More work, less consumption? As a rule, more work means more wage income and more consumption. But this does not have to be the case: a higher propensity to work and longer working hours reduce free time: almost 50% of the day is taken up by regeneration, i.e. longer working hours are almost entirely at the expense of leisure activities. There may then be a lack of time for leisure services.
• Less time for education: Education (school, university, further training) is primarily part of the time budget of children, whose numbers are declining significantly. As a result, the average amount of time spent on education is declining more rapidly than the population. Only further training for the working population can compensate for this development in terms of time.
• Demographic change increases time pressure: Demographic development is the driving force: This is evident in the areas of work, education, household chores and childcare.
• Politics can help: Reducing bureaucracy with the aim of streamlining work processes for employees, citizens and businesses and saving time.
• You can do something yourself: Both businesses and households can help themselves by reviewing work processes and domestic routines. This is already evident in private households, where delivery services of all kinds are on the rise. However, it remains to be seen whether the working conditions of those employed there are good and whether this saves time from a social perspective.
• What else can help? As always, digitalisation is the method of choice here. No queuing, no filling out forms, no filing, and automatic verification systems save time. Professionalisation can also help: doing things yourself is not always time-saving for the state, businesses, and households.

GWS-Kurzmitteilung 2025/8 provides only an initial overview. The groups of employed persons (e.g. women and men) and non-employed persons (retired, unemployed and others) would broaden the view. In addition, the data base needs to be improved, as the Federal Statistical Office's time use survey (every ten years) alone does not provide sufficient observation in turbulent times.

Wolter, M. I. (2025): Carpe Diem – eine ökonomische Perspektive. Von verpflichtendem Ehrenamt bis zur verlängerten Lebensarbeitszeit – Zeit als ein gesellschaftlicher Druckpunkt. GWS-Kurzmitteilung 8/2025, Osnabrück.