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A study out of the U.K. said BlackBerry smartphones and other always-connected devices are effectively adding 10 extra days of work a year.
The study surveyed 1,000 Brits and found 24% feel stressed because they are always on call. More than a quarter of these workers use their devices on the weekend, and 22% of those who do turn off their handset still look at work e-mails. Only a third of men turn off their BlackBerry smartphone over the weekend, compared to more than half of women.
These studies are always a bit overblown in the same way we see those stories about Facebook costing businesses billions in lost productivity. It would be foolish to say that the work/life balance hasn’t changed but I think that’s okay because the 9-to-5 schedule is antiquated. Sure, you may now be on the hook to respond to work e-mails on the weekends but that same ability should enable flexibility to take off in an afternoon if you need to do things like pick up your kids.
About The Author
Marin Perez
Marin Perez has torture tested cell phones and smartphones for industry leaders like CNET and InformationWeek. He remembers when 4G was just a screen on PowerPoint presentations and is fascinated with the amount of innovation out there. Marin has spent a lot of time with BlackBerry and Android but he finally broke down a bought an iPhone to see what all the hype's about. He also has too many tablets.
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Nick Doucet
