Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Online Time Use Survey (OTUS) was developed by the Office for National Statistics to help improve the measurement of unpaid household production and caring activities that are not captured within traditional economic measures, and to understand better time use from a well-being and quality of life perspective. The survey collects information from adults aged 18 years and over who are randomly sampled from the NatCen Opinion Panel, which is representative of the UK population. Data collected between March 2020 and March 2021 covers Great Britain and data collected from March 2022 onwards covers the United Kingdom. Participants were issued with two pre-allocated diary days (one on a weekday and one on a weekend day). They were asked to record their main activities (in 10-minute intervals) and up to five secondary activities (in five-minute intervals) in every 24 hours within an online diary tool. Respondents were able to select activities from a pre-defined list. They were also asked to rate how much they enjoyed different activities. In addition, respondents were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire which records personal and household characteristics.Latest edition informationFor the third edition (August 2024), data and documentation for Wave 8 (9 to 17 March 2024) were added to the study. Main Topics:The annual data files include the following variables:main activities (in 10-minute periods) up to five secondary activities (in five-minute periods)count of all 5-minute primary activities total in minutes of all primary activitiescount of all 5-minute secondary activitiestotal in minutes of all secondary activitiesenjoyment level (scale 1-7) for all primary activities (in 10-minute periods) enjoyment level (scale 1-7) for all secondary activities (in five-minute periods)basic demographics, including personal well-being rating variables.