Digital work-life-balance: 'Going off the grid' Can employees really switch off during travel?

Neuhofer, Barbara (2019) Digital work-life-balance: 'Going off the grid' Can employees really switch off during travel?

This workshop aimed to open a debate on changed work life balance realities in a digital world. It engaged academics, tourism, technology and HR professionals, students and the public in a dialogue about the wider challenges and expectations towards connectivity of employees in the context of travel. Overview: Technologies have had a massive impact on society and transformed how we work, live and experience travel. Social and mobile technologies have particularly enabled people to connect on an unprecedented scale, with any device, anywhere and at any time. While technologies enhance our professional and private lives in numerous ways, there is increasing evidence that people are no longer 'switching off'. Leisure travel, grounded in the motivation of escapism and the reversal of everyday life, has traditionally had the purpose to switch off, refresh and restore body and mind. What happens however if 'going off the grid' is no longer an option in our hyper-connected and work-centred lifestyles?