I would say it would depend on how many hives you have and what you want out of them. I know a guy, he never does anything with them other than pull off a frame of honey now and then. He lets them bee. They swarm in spring, he retrieves the swarms and boxes them, and leaves them totally alone. Each winter he has some losses, each spring the survivors swarm and he boxes them. When he needs some honey he pulls off a few frames. He only has maybe 10 to 15 hives at the height of the season.
If you want to raise queens or make increase in hives from your own stock, it takes more time. If you want to harvest as much honey as possible which requires more hive management, then it takes more time. If you want to learn by looking into hives and seeing what's up and by trying different things as far as management techniques or try out different kinds of hardware, then it takes more time.