Sunday blues: Have Sunday time use and its emotional connotations changed over the past two decades?

Abstract

Historical changes in the use of time have long attracted researchers’ attention. Less attention has been paid to the changing configuration of time use on different days of the week. This article uses time use data collected by Statistics Canada from 1981 to 2005, and experience sampling data collected in 1985 and 2003 in Ontario (Canada) to examine changes in the allocation of time to paid work, housework, shopping, child care, personal needs, and free time on weekdays and Sundays. It examines further whether changes in the behavioural make-up of Sundays have contributed to what is referred to as ‘Sunday blues’ or emotional discomfort at the doorstep of a new week.