We are not talking here of the succulent fruit of the English hedgerow, but of the wireless hand-held electronic gadget that allows you to send and receive e-mails anywhere in the world, from the depths of Disneyland to the beaches of Tahiti.

In a study soon to be published in American academic journals Gayle Porter, professor of management at Rutgers University business school in Camden, New Jersey, foresees the day when workers will be able to sue their employers for insisting that they stay in touch with the office at all times.

“The fast and relentless pace of technology-enhanced work environments creates a source of stimulation that may become addictive,” Professor Porter says. In other words, if you set off on holiday with your BlackBerry, laptop and mobile phone, you may lose forever the ability to shut work out of your mind and relax.

Although she does not mention him by name, Professor Porter may have had Tony Blair in mind, frolicking with his family in Barbados with every conceivable means of communication at hand to help President Bush to run the world.

“Information and communication technology (ICT) addiction has been treated by policymakers as a kind of elephant in the room; everyone sees it, but no one wants to acknowledge it directly,” the professor says.

“Owing to vested interests of the employers and the ICT industry signs of possible addiction — excess use of ICT and related stress illnesses — are often ignored. Employers rightfully provide programmes to help workers with chemical or substance addictions; addiction to technology can be equally damaging to the mental health of the worker.”

This equates with other research published yesterday, which suggests that half of BlackBerry users would find it a matter of concern if they were parted from their device, and one in ten would be devastated.

More than a third said that they would feel more stressed if they had to leave the office without it, and just over two thirds felt that the device improved the way they were perceived by clients, according to the research, which was conducted by T-Mobile.

In all, 90 per cent of BlackBerry users described it as a business lifesaver.

The addiction study, coauthored by Nada Kakabadse, professor of management and business research at the University of Northampton, suggests that the time may come when employers face legal penalties for insisting that staff stay in constant contact with their offices.

“It may be unfeasible to regulate how much people use technology,” the study says. “However, it is reasonable to imagine a time when policymakers recognise the powerful influence of employers that sometimes results in harmful excess among the workforce. The pressure for using technology to stay connected 24/7 may carry employer responsibility for detrimental outcomes to the employees.”

The researchers cite tobacco litigation in the US as to how the law and legal strategies evolve over time to find harm. Those who had paid the health penalty of cigarette smoking began their legal crusade against the tobacco companies in the 1950s, but it was not until the 1990s that they began to find success.

“If people work longer hours for personal enrichment, they assume the risk. However, if an employer manipulates an individual’s propensity towards workaholism or technology addiction for the employer’s benefit, the legal perspective shifts,” the study says. “When professional advancement — or even survival — seems to depend on 24/7 connectivity, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between choice and manipulation.”

The researchers say that they know of no cases in which employees are suing for undue electronic slavery, but they urge all workers to leave the gadgetry at home when they set off on holiday, and let the office ring, and ring, and ring . . .

AN E-MAIL HIGH

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