With a BlackBerry, two mobile phones, three office computers and wireless Internet for his car, Greg Shenkman is never far from his work. But recently the CEO of San Francisco-based Exigen Group eked out more productivity by wiring the final frontier: his bathroom. When Mr. Shenkman answers the speaker-phone in his shower, the water automatically shuts off. He can open the front door for deliveries while shaving. He's also put the finishing touches on a waterproof computer that will let him answer emails from his sauna. "I took Gates a little too literally," he says. "The flow of information never stops."

So it's come to this. The humble bathroom, long a place of refuge and solitude, is playing quiet host to more workplace transactions. Bathroom business has gone way beyond tapping out furtive emails on a BlackBerry. Lately, more hard-driving homeowners have converted their loos into virtual satellite workspaces, with retractable desks or waterproof touch-screen monitors. Manufacturer Acquinox of New York says sales of its steam shower/whirlpool units -- a hands-free phone is standard in each -- nearly tripled last year to 14,800 modules. Wisconsin-based Seura, meanwhile, reports rising sales of its vanity mirrors, which feature LCD screens in the glass. The mirrors, starting at $2,400, let users check their tie-knot, then flip a switch to watch the embedded TV.

*****

Working in the bathroom, of course, brings old workaholic conflicts (spousal discord, late nights) even closer to home. There's also Warren Struhl's worry -- that he'll be outed when making a call from there. Mr. Struhl lives in Boca Raton, Fla., but he's the CEO of snack-food maker Dale & Thomas Popcorn, which is based in Teaneck, N.J., so he conducts much of his business by remote. In the morning, he spends his first quiet moments in the bathroom reviewing his overnight emails. He often dials into work calls on his BlackBerry, and he figures that if he happens into the bathroom, the acoustics may give him away. To avoid embarrassment, he says, he'll cough to cover noises, or press the mute button. "They know by the echo," he says.

Another emerging hazard: the BlackBerry dunk. "There's something magnetic about a BlackBerry and a toilet," says Paul Normand, president of BlackBerry Repair Shop, a Houston company that specializes in fixing the devices. He says he gets about 100 broken units a day, and estimates five to 10 have fizzled out after customers dropped them in a sink, tub or worse. "They get leery when we ask them, 'Was the water clean?'"

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Those Crucial Workday Naps

Who hasn't longed for a much more comfortable way to sneak in those workday snoozes than propped on your desk, elbows strategically placed to hold up your snoring head? The brilliant Schlafgras (which means "Sleeping Grass") is the brainstorm of architecture students from the University of Stuttgart. The project (which, sadly, ended in October, 2005) was in connection with a research project to prove that short daytime naps improve concentration.

"Schlafgras" is based on a modular system, that allows for napping areas of different sizes. From using a single module within a regular office up to a "forest" made of grass everything is possible. While the outer parts of such a forest would only be suitable for sitting, its interior, protected by high, inflexible "stems", could offer the space for an intensive nap.

"Schlafgras" mainly consists of freely shapeable styrofoam. An easy to use mechanism makes it possible for the individual to arrange a personalized nap-landscape. In addition to the free choice of colour, it also offers individual landscape-modeling.

Because of this customizability, provided by the mechanism, the user can identify himself with his napping-furniture. After decreasing the "fears" of napping in a working environment, "Schlafgras" has the flexibility to adapt from creating an environment solely suitable for sitting to being primarily used for power-napping. "Schlafgras" was developed by Elena Haller, Julia Meisel, Martin Nowitzki and Hanni Schermaul.

And a hearty "Congratulations!" goes to Elena, Julia, Martin and Hanni: now, where do we buy one?? (Hat tip to Gizmodo.)

Posted on February 7, 2006
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Wasting Time at the Office

Now, we don't want to upset you, but it appears that American workers waste at least two hours a day surfing the Net when they should be working. We know, it's shocking.

U.S. workers say they squander over two hours a day at the workplace, with surfing the Web, socializing with co-workers and simply "spacing out" among the top time-wasting activities, according to a survey released on Monday. Most U.S. companies assume about an hour of wasted time, but workers admit to actually frittering away more than twice as much time at a cost of $759 billion in annual paid salary that results in no apparent productivity, an online survey conducted by America Online and Salary.com showed. Wasted time did not include the standard lunch hour.

Of 10,044 employee respondents, 33 percent said they engaged in time-wasting activities because they didn't have enough work to do. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they squandered their work hours because they were underpaid.

Men and women wasted an equal amount of time at work, but older workers were significantly more attentive than younger workers, the survey showed. Workers over 55 years old wasted an average of just 30 minutes a day, according to the survey. Bill Coleman, senior vice president at Salary.com, said some time-wasting activities -- such as personal use of the Internet -- can be positive, resulting in new business ideas or a happier work environment.

A happier work environment? Bill Coleman is probably right. Workers who are downloading the naughty plug-in for Grand Theft Auto when they're supposed to be doing the monthly sales reports are probably pretty happy.

Posted on July 12, 2005
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Massive Star Wars Sick Out Threatens U.S. Economy

The New York Post just had to blab to employers that all those people who'll be calling in sick Thursday with a case of the "Sith Flu" are really at the premiere of the hotly-anticipated new Star Wars film. Never big on the understatement, the Post warns that the anticipated absenteeism could cost the U.S. economy millions of dollars and implies that the film opening could throw us into a deep recession.

Employers are expected to see a dramatic spike in absenteeism as workers play hooky to see Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, when it opens May 19, according to a new report.

That loss of productivity could cost employers as much as $627 million in the first two days that the picture — the last installment of the epic sci-fi series — hits theaters.

Just imagine the scene at offices nationwide Thursday....scores of empty cubicles, office managers scowling and thumbing rolodexes for the number of a good temp agency.

"There is a lot of anticipation to see the final movie," said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "With opening day falling on a Thursday, instead of the traditional Friday premiere, we are looking at two days of Star Wars' -- induced absenteeism."

We'd do a longer report on the impending financial doom of the U.S. economy because of the immaturity and irresponsibility of the American worker, but we have to go order our Star Wars tickets online.

Posted on May 16, 2005
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