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Rise of the BlackBerry-Addicted Work Zombie

by Evan Shamoon on May 24, 2007 at 09:12 AM

Rise of the BlackBerry-Addicted Work ZombieUSA Today is reporting on a recent study in the Harvard Business Review that lays blame on advances in technology -- among other things -- for the rise of the "extreme worker": an individual who works 60 hours or more per week.

The study found that, among high-earning workers, 60 percent grind away for more than 50 hours a week; 35 percent work more than 60 hours and 10 percent work more than 80 hours.

According to the study, a major reason for the lengthening work week is technology like the BlackBerry and Internet, which allow work to follow an employee around no matter where he or she is and no matter what time it is. The USA Today piece profiles one "extreme worker" who brought a satellite phone with him on his honeymoon to Tahiti in order to stay in touch with the office, but cut the vacation short by five days when he got nervous that the phone wasn't ringing.

Tropical getaways aren't the only things suffering, though. The study claims that extreme work not only affects relationships with loved ones, but it can also lead to heart disease, depression, over-heating, insomnia and alcohol abuse.

This begs the question: If you stay home from work because work itself has made you sick, should that count as one of your sick days?

From USA Today

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