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According to Solutions Research Group “more then 63 percent of BlackBerry users take the device into the bathroom.” I will admit that I am one of these people, in my defense (or denial) it is usually in my pocket anyway. I am completely plugged in.
In Japan there exists a cause of death which hasn’t been official used here in the United States yet; Karoshi. Karoshi is the term used to describe an employee who is (officially declared by the government) to have been worked to death. It is not uncommon for a Japanese worker to put in upwards of 80 hours of overtime per month, with no financial compensation for the work. According to the Economist “one in three men aged 30 to 40 works over 60 hours a week”
Virginia Tech professor Richard Wokutch notes that many people “believe that karoshi results not only from work conditions such as a fast work pace or long hours, but also from other, indirect factors, such as long commutes, cramped living spaces, and inadequate sleep and exercise”
Fast work pace, long house, long commutes, inadequate sleep and exercise. To me, this sounds like a problem which can be seen here in America. Are we on the path to Karoshi? Technology has allowed for us to become more productive workers and more connected to the world around us. But we really aren’t connected on a personal level. Technology has erased the line between work life and a social life. I was asked the other day how often I take work home with me, and I couldn’t answer that question because work is where ever I am, I am not tethered to being in an office to get my work done. Technology plays a large part in every facet of my life. I order books on Amazon.com instead of going to the library, I facebook, email, or text friends instead of calling them, I even have most of my course work online supplementing the required work lectures I find on youtube.
At 6 am my computer turns on, my email program starts, my RSS feeder updates, and iTunes opens to wake me up. I eat my morning oatmeal responding to email, checking updates, news, and formulating my to-do list, which is on my computer. Lunch is the same process. During the day my BlackBerry dings every ten or fifteen minutes with a new e-mail or text. It is my belief that in order to best serve those I lead I must be contactable at all times. The only time I am not contactable is when I go running.
But I had a revelation last week. I got a new phone number and only gave it to a handful of people at first. My roommates commented on how odd it was that my phone wasn’t ringing non-stop. Those people who didn’t have my phone number and needed to get in contact with me found me, no one died because they couldn’t reach me, and I had a full phone battery for two days.
Then I decided to join 68 others and turn off my BlackBerry and computer one night a week for an entire year. (My friend refer to it as ‘de-nerding’. Like that will ever happen.)
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Comments
06.09.08
It's no surprise that Japan has one of the highest suicide rates as well, given their technology obsessed culture. I have stopped using my computer on the weekends. Monday-Friday I work on a computer for 8 hours, then when I get home, I blog/e-mail/research/play on a computer. I save Saturday and Sunday to relax, go outside, do ANYTHING but be online, and I feel much better on Monday morning as a result.
06.09.08
I think you're right, if things continue to progress the way the have been, America will be have to create a new term for the deaths from being overworked.
Being connected all the time is an incredible thing, we can work anywhere, anytime. But it also requires us to take some more personal responsibility. We need to know when its time to shut down.
06.09.08
I think we should be connected to ourselves first before being connected to other things.
Don't know if that makes sense.
I haven't had TV for a few years now. I don't listen to radio either. Does that mean I'm disconnected?
I just choose to connect through other media, like blogs, and businessweek.com.
I think the purpose is in tactfully controlling what we consume for a specific purpose. There's clearly something wrong in overdependence of gadgets.
06.09.08
Be sure to check out this related article about the importance of taking vacation and how Americans take fewer vacation days than people in other Western countries.
Also thanks for introducing me to 52 nights unplugged. I love the idea!
06.09.08
So true. People don't realize how stressful always being connected can be. I've started to do this too - shutting off my phone and/or computer for a whole day at a time.
It's important to remember that chatting/texting/facebook messages can't take the place of one-on-one interaction. We need to "de-nerd" (Love that term by the way!) and socialize in person too. It can be way too easy to completely live online and forget about the "real world" sometimes.
06.10.08
I don't think I realized how true this was until I started spending more time abroad. I think the majority of the world thinks that it is strange to spend so much time on the computer. I definitely know from experience that it is easier to disconnect when others around you are disconnected. That could be an experiment itself - get your friends to unplug as well!
06.10.08
Thanks for the comments everyone!
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