Mobile devices as a tool for establishing work — life balance: the downside

Abstract

Modern corporate culture in the context of Bauman's liquid modernity is greatly defined by the level of freedom, in particular, flexibility, mobility, new technologies and mass communications.  Staying connected 24/7 both in professional and private life known as ‘hyperconnectivity’ becomes commonplace. Hyperconnectivity entails not only positive but also negative consequences regarding the effectiveness of an individual’s work as well as the work of entire organizations.  The purpose of the article is to consider the negative aspects of the use of mobile devices as a way to establish work-life balance in the context of modern liquidity. Individual’s ‘right to disconnect’ minimizing the adverse effects of hyper connectivity is essential to the analysis of the issue. The right to disconnect is a new addition to the list of labor rights allowing an individual to disconnect from the work primarily by switching off e-mail or disabling work-related messages during non-working hours. To study the need to introduce ‘the right to disconnect’ and to achieve a better work-life balance the authors examine the labor practices in South Korea and two European countries (Germany and France).

Acknowledgment. This work was supported by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in 2018 and funded by the Korean Government (National Research Foundation of Korea) (NRF-362-2009-1-B00005).