Why you shouldn’t let your smartphone be the boss of you | Peter Fleming
The worst case of "work addiction" I have encountered was described to me by an ex-management consultant. A member of his team - let's call him Gary - was forced by his employer to take a holiday. The firm saw yet another potential burnout victim on its hands, in what has become a costly epidemic in today's economy. So Gary bid farewell and set off for sunny Crete for two weeks with his girlfriend.
While he was away the firm noticed something mysterious was happening. Gary's emails were periodically being cleared in compact 20-minute bursts. He was asked about it when he came back. It turned out he simply couldn't sit by the beautiful seashore doing nothing all day. He felt as if he was dying inside. So he secretly smuggled his smartphone to the beach and slipped off to the toilet every once in a while to get his email fix. Gary's co-workers found it hilarious, but also somewhat disconcerting.
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