The ‘bleisure’ principle, a combination of business and leisure travel, is becoming increasingly popular amongst business travellers. Does the bleisure principle oppose the ideals of a work/life balance however?
It’s understandable why people choose to coincide business with leisure. The transport costs are already paid for, the jet lag has settled, and instead of catching a flight home straight after a final meeting, business travellers can extend their stay and enjoy a new city for a few extra days. Does bleisure really allow you to relax once business is done or will it just be another two days of work emails and business calls?
Along with extended business trips, smart phones are often to blame for business and leisure colliding as social and professional applications are all on one device. As a digital generation some of us feel the need to be constantly connected through our devices. Not wanting to miss out on opportunities or information, the idea of switching off our phones can put us on edge.
For the second year in a row, SilverDoor came in the top 20 in The Sunday Times ‘Best Small Companies To Work For 2013’ and scored particularly highly on a good work/life balance. When our Managing Director, Marcus Angell, took his summer holiday this year, his out of office email explained ‘I believe that holidays should be just that, and used to switch brains off and recharge batteries.’ At SilverDoor employees are encouraged not to have emails forwarded to their phone, to have their out of office on and ignore all work emails when they go away, ensuring a complete break from work.
Bleisure offers a business traveller the opportunity to take advantage of their situation. Why not combine business and leisure into one trip but keep the two activities separate to protect a work/life balance? Whilst the idea of not having my phone permanently by my side seems unnerving, I say kick back in your travelled destination once business is done, embrace leisure and turn on the out of office. After all you’ll be more useful once you return, refreshed and ready to go.
