Tech Addiction: I can quit anytime I want to! (I just don’t want to…)
I was blogging in the shower when I cam across this. I thought it was interesting, but did not apply to me. (Wink)
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Taking your BlackBerry on vacation with you? Or to the kids’ soccer game? How about the business cell phone?
Technology keeps workers connected 24/7. If that sounds like an employer’s dream come true, think again: according to a Rutgers University - Camden researcher, employers who encourage non-stop work connections via technology may wind up with liability for encouraging addiction among their staff.
According to Gayle Porter, an associate professor of management at the Rutgers University School of Business at Camden, the fast and relentless pace of technology-enhanced work environments creates a source of stimulation that may become addictive. While addiction to work has been a widespread phenomenon for some time, the Rutgers-Camden scholar suggests that employers may face legal liability for these addictions.
“There are costs attached to excessive work due to technology,� says Porter. “Information and communication technology (ICT) addiction has been treated by policy makers as a kind of elephant in the room - everyone sees it, but no one wants to acknowledge it directly. Owing to vested interests of the employers and the ICT industry, signs of possible addiction - excess use of ICT and related stress illnesses - are often ignored.�
The results can be devastating for both the individual worker and the entire employing organization. “Employers rightfully provide programs to help workers with chemical or substance addictions,� notes Porter. “Addiction to technology can be equally damaging to the mental health of the worker.�
READ: Employers, Beware: “Techno Addicts� May Be More Liability Than Boon
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