More Canadians are feeling caught in a time crunch, struggling to meet the competing demands of work and family, according to a new report.

The report released Tuesday by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing examined the last 15 to 20 years of time use, leisure and culture trends in the country, based largely on data collected by Statistics Canada.

It found that the proportion of men and women who said they were experiencing high levels of time pressure grew from 16.4 per cent in 1992, peaked at 21.9 per cent in 1998 and reached 19.6 per cent in 2005.

The people who felt most pressed for time were single parents with young children. Those who felt the least amount of time pressure were single people 65 or older.

Furthermore, more women than men reported feeling more pressed for time.

"We're using more and more face time, not only on television but [also] the computer … and this leads to a sedentary lifestyle … one where we're not connecting to each other in a meaningful way," Roy Romanow, chair of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing advisory board, told CBC News in an interview Tuesday.

Unless that changes, "we have ourselves a pretty serious crisis here about the quality of life and what and how we should conduct our lives," added Romanow, a former premier of Saskatchewan.

Elder care grows

More adults, particularly women, are providing care to seniors. About one in four employed Canadians in the study were responsible for caring for an elderly dependent, and one in five had responsibilities for caring for both children and seniors.

Fewer Canadians in the study were working long hours but more were working irregular hours, such as weekends, evenings and rotating shifts. The proportion of Canadians aged 20 to 64 who worked such hours jumped to 28.7 per cent in 1999 from 22.8 per cent in 1992 and was 25.2 per cent in 2008, the report said.

A recent report suggests that many Canadians, like these commuters rushing through Toronto's Union Station, are caught in a time crunch. (J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)

Among the trends reshaping the use of time, leisure and culture activities, the report cited greater consumer demand for services outside weekday hours, urban sprawl and workplace technologies such as email and smartphones that increasingly demand employees be "perpetually on call."

While the report doesn't propose specific solutions, Romanow said he hopes it raises awareness and starts a "national dialogue" on how Canadians can lead more balanced lives.

"Now, more than ever, we need family-friendly policies for all workers and supports for seniors," he said. "It's time to modernize Canada's work and social policies."

Don Nguyen, who works in the restaurant business in Toronto, said he feels the time crunch and its impact on family life. After work, he rushes home for a late dinner with the whole family around the table.

"We're constantly working," he said. "With a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old at home, you find yourself constantly juggling priorities, juggling schedules to try to save some time to have time as a family."

The report also found that:

• The percentage of children and adolescents participating in organized, extra-curricular activities at least weekly has stayed about the same, with 83 per cent of children aged six to nine and 75 per cent of teens aged 14 to 15 taking part.
• Adolescents are increasingly exceeding recommended times for TV, video games and computer use. The proportion jumped to 32 per cent in 2007-08 from 27 per cent in 2003.
• Significantly fewer children are having meals at home with parents. The proportion of teens aged 15 to 17 who had a meal each day with their parents plunged to 35 per cent in 2005 from 64 per cent in 1992.

With files from The Canadian Press