By Oriel Sullivan, Jonathan Gershuny and Juana Lamote de Grignon Perez
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a well-known measure of economic performance. But it doesn’t fully capture what people really do all day, what they produce and consume, or how well they’re living.
Over a decade ago, a major report by Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen and Jean-Paul Fitoussi, called for a broader approach to economic measurement. One of their key recommendations was to pay more attention to time use: how people spend their hours, not just their money.
The UK’s Independent Review of Economic Statistics, led by Charles Bean, echoed that call. It highlighted the need for more detailed and more accurate information about unpaid work and the changing patterns of modern life, especially in a digital society. Time use diary studies, where people log their daily activities in detail, are essential to meeting this need.
This growing interest is not limited to the UK. International bodies such as the UN, World Bank, and International Labour Organization are now urging over 190 national statistical offices to conduct regular time use surveys, recognising their value for understanding economic and social well–being globally.
Our new ESCoE discussion paper in collaboration with the Centre for Time Use Research (CTUR) outlines the principles behind high-quality time use diary surveys, and introduces a new digital diary.
Why does time use matter?
Standard economic statistics like GDP are based on market transactions (what we buy and sell). But a lot of economic activity isn’t paid for: childcare, cooking, cleaning, volunteering, and even the admin we do online (like sorting out bills or booking appointments) all make up essential parts of our lives and our economy.
Time use diaries allow us to measure these activities with accuracy. Unlike recall surveys, which ask people to estimate how much time they spend on tasks, diaries ask them to log activities as they happen or soon after. This makes the data far more reliable.
There are three key reasons for the growing interest in collecting time use data online:
Time use tools for policymaking
Well-designed time use data has real value for government, researchers, and society more broadly. For example, it can inform:
Time use data can also support what Stiglitz, Sen, and Fitoussi called for: a “dashboard” of indicators that includes both monetary and non-monetary measures. This doesn’t replace traditional statistics but complements them, painting a fuller picture of national progress.
Adapting to the digital age
In recent years, time use diaries have moved online. Collecting time use data online can be faster and cheaper. It can also allow new types of data collection, such as:
But these innovations also require careful design. Surveys must be easy to complete across different devices, need to work for people of all ages and abilities and must still produce data that’s representative and comparable with earlier studies. Read more about navigating the switch to online time use diaries in this blog post.
CTUR has decades of experience in designing time use studies. CTUR members helped develop the guidelines for the Harmonised European Time Use Survey (HETUS), widely seen as the gold standard for diary data collection.
Now, CTUR is working with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and others to shape the next generation of UK time use surveys. The goal is to create a high-quality, general-purpose survey that serves a broad community of users, from National Accounts to academic research to public policy.
Learning from experience
In March 2023, the ONS ran an experimental Online Time Use Survey (OTUS), alongside CTUR’s own test of a new digital diary tool called ELiDDI (Electronic Light Digital Diary Instrument). While the comparison was a useful starting point, there is more work needed to improve the tool.
For example, key indicators of data quality weren’t available, like how long it took people to complete the OTUS. Two months of data collection also may not be enough to capture seasonal variations in time use, which affect everything from childcare routines to energy demand.
CTUR proposes a more comprehensive design process, including:
CTUR’s previous work provides a strong foundation. The centre has already collected rich datasets combining diaries with GPS tracking, body cameras, and accelerometers. In 2015, it also conducted a large diary-plus-accelerometer study within the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
These experiences can inform a new survey that meets the needs of both government and academic users and ensures continuity with past data collections.
Looking ahead
As the ONS considers future funding and design options for time use data collection, CTUR stands ready to help. By drawing on international best practices and cutting-edge methods, future UK time use surveys can become a vital tool for understanding how society is changing and how we can shape better outcomes for everyone.
One important aim is to ensure that the resulting data is accessible to a broad community of legitimate users, from government departments to academic and third sector researchers.
At its core, time use research is about capturing the flow of life in all its diversity. It recognises that what we do with our hours matters deeply, not just how we spend our money. In a world of rapid technological and social change, this kind of evidence has never been more valuable.
ESCoE blogs are published to further debate. Any views expressed are solely those of the author(s) and so cannot be taken to represent those of the ESCoE, its partner institutions or the Office for National Statistics.