Serious Leisure and Work

This article looks at the complex relationship between serious leisure and work, with an eye to examining its implications for social life and practice. First, the serious leisure perspective (a theoretic framework that synthesizes three main forms: serious, casual, and project-based leisure) is described. Then, occupational devotion is examined. It consists of a strong, positive attachment to a form of self-enhancing work, where the sense of achievement is high and the core activity (set of basic tasks) is endowed with such intense appeal that the line between this work and leisure is virtually erased. Devotee work roots most immediately in amateur, hobbyist, and volunteer pursuits. Next some of the ways that people bridge devotee work and their leisure are considered. Careers are then discussed. These careers originate in serious leisure and, for some people, extend into work. After considering some others ways of bridging devotee work and serious leisure, two main implications of the link between these two are taken up.