Sitting for 16-18 hours a day at your computer, what could possibly be dangerous about that, right?
With the recent deaths of two prominent bloggers, health concerns have many in the biz thinking about their lifestyle. Weight loss or gain, sleep disorders and exhaustion are a few of the health problems that go along with the job.
An article in the New York Times alludes that the deaths of bloggers Russell Shaw and Marc Orchant, and the heart attack of 41-year-old Om Malik, are due to job related stress. Writer Matt Richtel even goes so far as to say that blogging has become a digital-era sweatshop.
To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.
CNN followed up the Times article, interviewing celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton, (see video below) who talks about the constant pressure to keep his site updated. Perez says he has made some changes in his own life to focus on his health.
On the flip side of this story, blogging has changed my life for the better. As a real estate broker, I worked long hours, had virtually no days off and I was always on call. Wait…what? Seriously, I am no longer slave to an alarm clock (a real bonus since I am highly allergic to mornings), a can work from anywhere, (although that tends to be from my sofa) and I am fortunate to have the greatest blogging team ever assembled – from my partner Missy and our lead writer Meg, to our fabulous support team, attorney Angel and tech wiz Beau.
I also try to work out regularly, although I’ll admit the pounds have started creeping as of late, so I’ve hired a personal trainer. Now if I could only hire someone to make sure I actually make it to my appointments with the trainer.