Time poor workers cram in ‘life’
> Sydney-siders doing too much > Lifestyle 'crammed in' > Longer working hours contribute
Life passes by in a blur for a growing number of Australians, with experts warning they cause themselves more stress by trying to do too much.
Now, 15-minute workouts are to be introduced at city gyms to cater for busy professionals.
Fitness First is considering running “fast classes’’ -as they are known in the UK - in city gymnasiums.
Personal trainer Lisa Brown already offers 20-minute sessions. “People either don’t have the money or the time and this is a way of them being able to exercise and get results. I think 15-minute classes would catch on,’’ she said.
Gym junkie Nicci McKewen, 37, said fast classes were a great idea.
“I would probably use the 15-minute classes along with my regular routine,’’ she said.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge went cash free on Sunday so people can get across faster. From March, buses will also start to become cashless because it only takes three seconds to dip a prepaid ticket into a machine, compared with 11 seconds to pay cash.
Work-life expert Jennifer Jefferies said Generations X and Y wanted everything at once, without having to work as hard as their parents from the baby boomer generation.
“They get their coffee at drive-through so they can then go on to do five different things,’’ she said.
“The baby boomer generation had a real work ethic and put their work before themselves. I think a lot of workers perceive that they can’t put themselves first so they skip taking lunch or going to the gym.’’
Sociologist James Arvanitalis, from the Centre for Cultural Research at the University of Western Sydney, said people were working longer and commuting further than ever before.
“There’s a sense that we are time poor and that we want to cram more and more into a day. We’re constantly looking for ways to maximise any spare time that we have.
“You see people eating breakfast or doing their hair in the car on the way to work in the morning.’’
Mr Arvanitalis said people spent more time rushing between things than actually doing things.
“Even when it comes to holidays people seem to cram lots in,’’ he said.
