Got a spare minute? How we use our most precious resource

It's Christmas time again, the nights are drawing in, city centres are packed with crowds, and, at some point, many people are getting that indistinct feeling that everything is getting a bit tight. Not just for buying gifts, but also in terms of time. That's precisely why that classic, last-minute idea pops up every year – give the gift of time. A voucher for a trip together, a dining experience, a phone-free afternoon – simply savouring the moment. People are increasingly giving the gift of time. In a survey conducted in Austria, 26% of respondents said they wanted to give the gift of time together in 2025 (1). In an increasingly fast-paced world where everyone feels stressed, time is becoming a vital resource. That's exactly why it is such an attractive gift. The less time you have makes the gift of giving it anyway all the more precious.

So much (wasted) time

When you consider how we fill our days on average, a sobering picture emerges. Screen time accounts for a large chunk, which doesn't just include TikTok or Netflix, but also working on our PCs, emails, meetings and basically anything done via a screen these days. Next comes the time we spend alone. Screen time still tends to decrease with age, but this is probably due to the fact that the generation who grew up with smartphones has not yet entered retirement.

At least since the COVID-19 pandemic, work time has taken on a new meaning. It is less about the sheer amount, as weekly working hours in Switzerland are on a downward trajectory long term (2), but instead about an issue that has a much more far-reaching impact on everyday life – where is work done and what does work time feel like when the distinction between the office and home life is blurred? The removal of this clear barrier has pros and cons which are much debated. On one hand, it allows people to strike a better work-life balance – for example, more effective use can be made of working hours by eliminating the daily commute. On the flip side, some people miss spending time with colleagues, creative collaboration and support in the workplace. A recently published study by the Future of Work Lab at the University of Constance nevertheless clearly reveals there is still a "strong desire to work from home".

Most people don't simply want one or the other – to work only at home or only in an office setting. The standard requirement is a hybrid working model. 75% of people prefer a combination of working from home and in the office. 19% favour working just from home while 6% would prefer to work only in the office. (3)

Back to the office!

In economically challenging times, some companies are nonetheless once again focussing more on making staff come into the office – often in the hope of boosting productivity. Volkswagen has attracted attention recently as a prominent example after introducing a three-day-a-week office attendance rule following a slump in profits. It is not possible to determine whether such measures can actually improve the productivity of companies directly from the data produced in the Constance study because it doesn't measure any hard performance indicators. Employees' self-assessments are nevertheless revealing as they indicate what a changed attendance culture feels like and what impact it has on people.

These surveys reveal an interesting pattern for 2025. Employees at companies with flexible working models report an average increase in performance of around 5%. Emotional exhaustion is significantly higher at companies with stricter requirements on coming into the office, even though the effect is somewhat lower than in the previous year.

While we are discussing where to work and how much time in the office is best, something is going on in the background that is easy to overlook. Average working hours in Switzerland have fallen over recent decades, while life expectancy has risen over the same period (4), and current longevity research is attempting to enable people to enjoy good health for even longer.

Saving time to gain a competitive edge

AI looks set to save us a lot of time in future too. Anthropic recently published an analysis suggesting that current generation AI models could improve productivity growth in the US by around 1.8% per year over the next decade in purely mathematical terms (5), while some tech CEOs are proclaiming the end of work where we will soon no longer have to work at all (6). That sounds like more time – perhaps even too much time on our hands. However, it remains to be seen whether, when and for whom these promises will actually come to fruition.

After all, humans have always endeavoured to become more efficient by doing more in the same amount of time. But that raises the next question – often only faintly heard and almost uncomfortable – what do we do with all the time gained? In all honesty, we are currently giving much of our attention to screens – to the great delight of many advertisers, and not always to our own advantage. 

So do we really have less and less time or is it just a matter of how we use it? One thing is beyond doubt. Our time is precious. Not just for us, but others too. Our time in the form of attention is worth hard cash to the advertising industry. And as indicated at the outset, we are currently more willing to give this attention voluntarily – even though we may not always realise it. The festive season is a good time to pause to reflect on who or what you wish to give your attention to and how you'd like to spend your time over the coming year.