A person's discretionary time is operationalised as the time that person has left over once he or she has done what is necessary in paid labour, unpaid household labour and personal care. The operationalisation of necessity here draws on conventions used in poverty research and is based on relative social standards rather than absolute ones. Necessary time in paid labour is determined by asking how much time a person needs to spend in income-producing activities to be just above the poverty line, defined in relative terms. Necessary time in unpaid household labour and personal care are determined in analogous ways.
