Can Digital Workers Switch Off?

This panel discussion will explore the future of work and its implications for workers.  

As the boundaries between working lives and lives outside of work become blurred by working from home, and various forms of ‘digital work’, questions remain about the rights and abilities of workers to ‘switch off’. These questions take place in a context of concerns about productivity in the UK as well as the emergence of new technologies to monitor the performance of employees. The purpose of this event is to explore these issues in greater depth from a variety of perspectives.

Event schedule

The event will begin with introduction to some of the key issues shaping the future of work. There will then be some brief discussion of the latest research that is taking place at the University of Stirling on the transformation of work that is the foundation for this event.  

There will then be a 45-minute panel discussion with contributions from each of our speakers. The panel discussion brings together experts from the University of Stirling and contributors at the centre of debates around the transformation of workplaces generated by technology. It will explore not only how work has changed but what changes we can expect in the future and the implications of this for workers.

Following the panel discussion, there will then be a 30-minute Question and Answer session with our panel members. Event attendees will be able to ask questions as well as share their own perspectives of the changes taking place in the world of work. 

The Question and Answer session will be followed by some brief closing remarks by the host to highlight some of the key learning to be taken from our discussions. 

Who’s leading the sessions? 

The event is being led by Dr Tom Montgomery, Lecturer in Work & Organisations at Stirling Business School. 

Who should attend the event?

While this event is open to anyone with an interest in the future of work, there are some groups who will find the event of particular interest including:

• young people at the beginning of their working lives who are seeking to understand some of the implications of technological transformation for their future experiences as an employee;
• employers and employer representative organisations, trade unions, third sector organisations engaged in employment issues, HR practitioners and those working in areas of policymaking that connect with key issues around the future of work and its implications for workers. 

Do I need to book?

Yes, book your place now. Booking closes at 13:00 on Tuesday 4 November 2025.

This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2025.