Smart devices are sometimes empowering. They put a world of information at our fingertips. They free people to work from home instead of squeezing onto a crowded train. That is a huge boon for parents who need flexible work hours. Smartphones and tablets can also promote efficiency by allowing people to get things done in spare moments that would otherwise be wasted, such as while standing in line for coffee.

However, hyperconnectivity exaggerates some of the most destabilising trends in the modern workplace: the decline of certainty, the rise of global supply chains and the general worshiping of flexibility.

Employees find it ever harder to distinguish between "on-time" and "off-time", and between real work and make-work. Executives are burdened with two overlapping workdays: a formal one full of meetings and an informal one spent trying to keep up with the mountain of e-mails and messages.

None of this is good for businesspeople’s marriages or mental health. It may be bad for business, too. When bosses change their minds at the last minute, it is hard to plan for the future. And several studies have shown that people think more deeply if they are not constantly distracted.