Temporality and the Lifestyle Operator

Abstract

Globalisation and an increasingly fluid world have given rise to a greater focus on lifestyle and identity development. The desire for a better lifestyle has seemingly continued to increase as individuals search for ways to bring greater meaning to their lives (Stone & Stubbs, 2007; Walmsley, 2003). Such shifts in societal dynamics have in turn seen an increase in the integration of work as part of a wider lifestyle choice in which non-work and work activities amalgamate to create an overall assimilated lifestyle (Duncan et al., 2013; Shaw & Williams, 1994). Resulting from this, we now see a range of lifestyle operators, who are making work choices with varying degrees of lifestyle focus. Many such lifestyle operators are seen within tourism and hospitality, attracted by low barriers to entry and flexible work offered by temporal trading. Whilst previous studies of temporality in tourism have largely focused on temporality as a problem (Baum & Lundtorp, 2001), there are now indications of some individuals proactively using temporality to facilitate a desired lifestyle, through having redefined the conventions of delineated ‘work’ and ‘non-work’ time.