Firms that wire up their workers with BlackBerry devices and other equipment that provides always-on connectivity with the office may wind up with liability for encouraging addiction among staff, US researchers warned today.
Gayle Porter, an associate professor of management at the Rutgers-Camden School of Business, said that 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 research suggested that employers may be laying themselves open to legal liability for these addictions.
"There are costs attached to excessive work due to 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," said Porter.
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