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Some societies assume, for the large part of the population which is in a condition of employee, a separation between "work" and "leisure". This idea was invented with the industrial revolution.^[1] From this perspective, work is considered as the main activity and "one's duty", consisting of the labor given to an employer. "Leisure", a label with derogatory connotation attached to everything else outside work,^[2][3][4] is instead considered of marginal importance and frivolous.

A famous argument against this dichotomy, is that the separation between what you are ("leisure") and what you do ("work"), generates psychological disorders, alienation and detachment to life.

[edit] See also

• Work ethic
• Protestant work ethic
• Work-life balance

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Keith Thomas (1964) WORK AND LEISURE IN PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY in Past & Present 1964 29(1):50-62; doi:10.1093/past/29.1.50
• Gareth Stedman Jones (1977) Class expression versus social control? A critique of recent trends in the social history of ‘leisure’ in History Workshop Journal 1977 4(1):162-170; doi:10.1093/hwj/4.1.162
• Joan-Lluis Marfany, Peter Burke (1997) The invention of leisure in early modern Europe in Past & Present, August, 1997
• Peter Burke (1995) The Invention of Leisure in Early Modern Europe, in Past and Present, no. 146 (Feb. 1995).
• Hans-Joachim Voth (2000) Time and Work in England 1750-1830 Published by Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN 0199241945, 9780199241941
• Ken Browne (2006) Introducing Sociology for AS Level Published by Polity, 2006 ISBN 0745635598, 9780745635590 pp. 357-8
• Robert A. Stebbins (2004) Between work and leisure: The common ground of two separate worlds. New Brunswick, NJ: Transation. ISBN 0765802279.