The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management DOWNSHIFTING, LEISURE MEANINGS AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN LEISURE A Dissertation in Leisure Studies by Roy S. Hampton 2008 Roy S. Hampton Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2008 The dissertation of Roy S. Hampton was reviewed and approved* by the following: Garry Chick Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Thesis Advisor Chair of Committee Careen Yarnal Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Geoffrey Godbey Professor Emeritus of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Lorraine Dowler Associate Professor of Geography and Director of Women’s Studies John Dattilo Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management Head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT This study was undertaken with the purposes of exploring meanings of leisure prevalent amongst career downshifters and to better understand changes in their leisure consequential to their career downshift. Using this information an initial evaluation of whether downshifting can help regain the essence of leisure was made. Twenty-seven participants were purposively selected and interviewed in an open- ended question format, either in person or over the telephone. They had varying degrees of experience of downshifting, came from and went to a multitude of different careers, and lived across the United States. They were asked questions about what leisure meant to them, and how leisure had transformed since their career change. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and read multiple times, to identify common patterns and themes and to develop answers to the research questions. The results affirmed that leisure is a subjective word that contains numerous meanings for different people. There is considerable overlap between the general meanings of leisure that evolved from this set of participants and leisure meanings that have been described by leisure researchers previously, out of a downshifting context. A variety of transformations in leisure associated with downshifting emerged. Overall downshifting was instrumental in stimulating a whole spectrum of changes in the value of leisure. The data collected for this study suggests that downshifters partially regain the essence of leisure, according to the criteria set out by Juniu (2000). Discussion of pre and iii post-downshift leisure experiences confirmed Linder’s (1970) theory that harried leisure detracts satisfaction from the overall experience of leisure. Continued research investigating transformations in leisure, work/leisure values, and lifestyles associated with downshifting is recommended. It will provide insight into personal, family and health costs related to extreme jobs / workaholism, identify policy issues for bodies devoted to ensuring safe and healthy work environments, and help in identifying pertinent issues designed to measure development. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................viii LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................................x Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................1 PROBLEM STATEMENT – STATEMENT OF PURPOSE...............................6 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................7 WORK AND LEISURE .......................................................................................8 DOWNSHIFTING & LEISURE ..........................................................................10 DOWNSHIFTING – Historical Context and Definition ......................................12 DOWNSHIFTING - Manifestation ......................................................................15 DOWNSHIFTING – Motivation: Why people downshift....................................21 LEISURE – Contemporary Definitions ................................................................22 LEISURE – Associations......................................................................................23 LEISURE – Meanings of leisure in everyday life ................................................24 SUMMARY..........................................................................................................25 Chapter 3 METHODS.................................................................................................28 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .........................................................................28 SAMPLING – type and size .................................................................................31 PARTICIPANT SELECTION CRITERIA ..........................................................32 RECRUITMENT OF PARTICIPANTS...............................................................33 PRE-INTERVIEW / INTERVIEW PROCESS ....................................................34 THE INTERVIEW................................................................................................36 DATA ANALYSIS...............................................................................................37 RESEARCH QUALITY.......................................................................................43 RESEARCH QUALITY - CREDIBILITY...........................................................44 CREDIBILITY – Triangulation.....................................................................44 CREDIBILITY - Peer debriefing ..................................................................45 CREDIBILITY - Member checking..............................................................45 CREDIBILITY -Thick description................................................................47 TRANSFERABILITY ..........................................................................................48 DEPENDABILITY...............................................................................................49 CONFORMABILITY...........................................................................................49 Chapter 4 FINDINGS..................................................................................................50 v Profile of the Knowledge Base .............................................................................51 The Participants.....................................................................................................56 DATA CLASSIFICATION ..................................................................................99 Meanings of Leisure for Downshifters ..........................................................99 Perceived freedom ..................................................................................100 Relaxation...............................................................................................106 Fun / Enjoyment .....................................................................................109 Family.....................................................................................................111 Activity ...................................................................................................113 Absence of work.....................................................................................115 Being Creative ........................................................................................116 Balance ...................................................................................................117 Traveling.................................................................................................119 Doing nothing, Hanging out & Watching TV ........................................120 CHANGES IN LEISURE..............................................................................122 Less Pressure ..........................................................................................123 No change, just more of it ......................................................................133 Change in perceived leisure....................................................................133 More active / More energy .....................................................................135 Organic lifestyle development –.............................................................137 Weekends: Less work on the weekends .................................................147 Vacations: Less work contact during vacation time –............................150 Changes In The Meaning Of Leisure.............................................................152 Increased appreciation of leisure ............................................................153 De-valuation in Leisure ..........................................................................154 Meaning of leisure remained the same ...................................................157 Were the changes evident in leisure directly attributable to the downshift? ..............................................................................................158 Are leisure experiences more or less social since the downshift? .................160 Downshifters who recognized they are more social...............................161 Downshifters who recognized they are less social .................................162