Recently (OK a few weeks back, but I'm just getting to write about it) there has been some controversy in the United States and in the UK regarding after work hours of blackberries. Workers at ABC and a telecom in the UK were threatening strike if they were not compensated for using their Blackberries after normal work hours.
Speaking as a Blackberry user I would say with out a doubt I am more productive during and after work because of my blackberry. It is hard to say if I agree if blackberry users should be paid more. After all I use one and I would love to get paid more. If the user is a hourly employee, which I assume many would not be, they certainly should be paid for the time they use a Blackberry after normal working hours. If a user is a salary based employee things change...
I see the Blackberry as a tool to help a employee do his/her job better. So if the Blackberry helps the employee do their job better, faster, etc. (which I'm convinced it does) they should definitely be compensated via a merit-based raise or benefit.
Myself and others are Blackberry abusers and we are constantly checking email and using our crack-berries. I feel that my company shouldn't compensate me for my obsession unless I am doing my job better than I previously was without it (which I am, wink, wink)
Maybe I'll touch on the subject later but I need to head to bed.
