BlackBerry at the pool    

The Chicago Sun Times has an article about a police sergeant who's seeking overtime pay for his after-hours work done on his BlackBerry while at home. For many of us who have work devices this is nothing new. I've been using a BlackBerry for work since 1998 and have spent many hours over the years responding to work related stuff from home or while out the the family.

It's not something that I've ever considered a terrible burden. My guess is that because I've found so many uses for my BlackBerry other than just work email. It's my Twitter connection, podcast player, personal calendar, password keeper and many more functions. These apps make the device more of a Swiss-Army knife that you can't imagine leaving home with. I'm also in commission corporate sales so I guess each after hours email helps me make more money.

Strangely I have found is that having a BlackBerry helps give me more personal time if you can believe it. Pre-BlackBerry I'd be at the park and a client would actually phone me on my cell phone and even though it would be just a quick question after all the usual chit-chat the quick question could be a 5 minute phone call. Now with a BlackBerry the quick question can be answered with a 6 word email and be done with it in 15 seconds.

Now with all that said, I could just be a work-a-holic and don't know if I could put down regardless. In fact I'm writing this article from my campsite while supposedly on vacation with my family and a few other families from my church, is that not irony? As there are steps you can take to reduce the annoyance level of work related email by controlling the email flow. Additionally there a feature on a BlackBerry that many people may not be aware of, the power button. What do you think? Cast your vote in our poll and leave a comment with your thoughts!

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