Recent developments in communication technology—internet, mobile, instant messaging, presence tracking, etc.—have begun to change the nature of vacation. Vacation today means absence from the workplace rather than temporary cession of work.
It is now the norm in North America and Great Britain to carry on working or remain on call while on vacation rather than abandon work altogether. Office employees telecommute whilst on vacation. Workers may choose to unplug for a portion of a day and thus create the feeling of a "vacation" by simply separating themselves from the demands of constant digital communications. Antithetically, workers may take time out of the office to go on vacation, but remain plugged-in to work-related communications networks. While remaining plugged-in over vacation may generate short-term business benefits, the long-term psychological impacts of these developments are only beginning to be understood.