In-flight wi-fi is a threat to our time out. It’s time to fight back
Thursday, 3 October 2024
Josh Martin is a London-based journalist who writes across business and travel topics.
OPINION: The in-flight cocoon which temporarily shielded us from infuriating algorithms, the bots and braindead that proliferate social media, clickbait and, yes, work emails has crumbled.
Now all but the most dated and budget airlines offer some form of in-flight wi-fi.
Even if in-flight wi-fi is not free, as it is on some Air New Zealand, Emirates, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and JetBlue services, the proliferation of fee-based wi-fi access is so pronounced it’s no longer assumed that somebody who’s flying long-haul or domestic will be out of touch for the duration of their journey.
This is all very well for people keen on sharing their journey from 30,000 feet, business travellers and those unimpressed with the in-flight entertainment, which may disappear from some airlines as in-flight connectivity and coverage improve.
But spare a thought for those of us who cherished this last outpost of the pre-internet, an antidote to the “always connected, always on” era.
On a recent cross-European flight, rows of seat trays were littered with laptops used by hunched-over employees furiously typing replies and presentations to colleagues back in the office.
Counter-intuitively, when using air transport to connect with people in different places, it was these few hours of disconnect where reflection, plans and new ideas could form. Or you could just eat, sleep and watch a movie in relative peace without the guilt or pressure to be present online, engaging in the world below.
And so it feels like a well-timed coincidence that several countries are considering or passing legislation that seeks to enshrine the right of workers to switch off.
Jurisdictions as varied as Belgium, Kenya, Portugal and Australia are beefing up laws that protect workers from retribution if they ignore emails and calls from the boss or colleagues outside of working hours.
When it came into effect in Australia this year it was reported that Aussies work an average of 281 hours of unpaid overtime per year. Given our cultural overlap with our next-door neighbours and the fact New Zealanders work longer hours per week than Australians, we can assume there is a comparable unpaid overtime figure for Kiwis.
Further muddying the waters and making it harder to draw the line between work and play is the travel trend of “work from anywhere”.
Whether you call it remote work, digital nomadism or a working holiday, the Covid pandemic prompted a cohort of digitally-focussed workers i to pack their backpacks and laptops and relocate to tropical and sunny climates.
This led to a proliferation of co-working spaces, fast and plentiful wi-fi connections, and espresso and smoothie bars where previously there were few. And where there were coral reefs to be explored, chalky sands to be laid upon and jungle summits to be scaled, a wave of entrepreneurs and their #hustleculture made its entrance.
Bali is full of them, I’m told. And so the expectation from company managers grew – particularly with workers spread across time zones – that if they weren’t physically in the office they should be responsive online.
Presenteeism doesn’t digitally discriminate, it seems. Whatever the root cause, the growing number of us who can’t switch off when on holiday risk even further frustration - annoying our travel companions with constant email checking, the dreaded Microsoft Teams notification tone and attempting office chat poolside.
To make matters worse, we’ll likely look overbearing but ineffective by weighing in on work matters from another time zone without all the relevant info and kit. Better to embrace the out-of-office, even if some airline cabin feels increasingly like one.
How to remain out-of-office overseas
Bust out the megaphone: Don’t just book leave and scarper off. Tell everyone from the receptionist to the clients to the CEO that you’re finally escaping for 10 days in Hawaii/Hanoi/Hobart so nobody is in any doubt that you are not in work mode.
A short handover, an out-of-office and perhaps a contact number of who to speak to in your absence (not you!) is all that’s required.
Don’t pack your laptop and leave the phone in the hotel room. The world is not short on camera phones - delegate somebody else to take the pics and you won’t be tempted to “just check in with the team”.
Delete work apps: Goodbye Slack. Goodbye Teams. Even swearing off social media and news websites will help break habits of the workday and allow you to focus on the - rare and expensive - holiday in front of you.