Dangers of working outside office hours

The most successful employees can become addicted to the internet and burn out, say researchers

Hard workers who log on after they finish work may be the most successful but they are most likely to develop compulsive internet use and risk their mental health, academics say.

Increasing numbers of employees are working outside office hours, boosting their careers but putting their well-being at risk, a new study has shown.

Researchers at two UK business schools said companies are ignoring the problems of staff developing compulsive behaviour - waking at night to check emails and feeling anxious when separated from their computer - because those affected are often the best employees.

Dr Cristina Quinones-Garcia, of Northampton Business School, said the new phenomenon of hard workers becoming addicted to the web boosted their careers but had a downside, too.

The academic, who co-wrote the study, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Those individuals who use technology to enable working beyond office hours tend to be highly successful in their jobs but are at a high risk of developing problems.'

Co-author Nada Kakabadse, professor of policy, governance and ethics at Henley School of Business, said workaholics were likely to cross an invisible boundary and start to use the internet more than was healthy.

Eating and sleeping patterns can become disrupted, relationships can suffer strain, and people can start to suffer withdrawal symptoms when separated from their computer, she said.

'They spend increasing amounts of time online, waking up to three times a night to check emails,' Dr Kakabadse said.  'They begin to lose judgement and make mistakes.'

The academics said that what they discovered from their study of 516 men and women aged between 18-65 was that those most at risk of becoming addicted to the internet were not the young or unemployed people that they had anticipated, but hard workers with good jobs.

They now say employers should be aware of the risks to their employees' health and should draw up guidelines for their on how to use the internet outside the office safely.

The researchers rated people for compulsive internet usage, emotional stability, excessive work and compulsive work and life satisfaction, and found that more than 60 per cent said they used the internet compulsively, often as a coping strategy.

The study showed that those who became addicted to the computer were the most likely to suffer from isolation, depression and anxiety.

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