Part of the G.O.O.D. concept is Sheraton's new signature hotel offering: the "Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft" lobby which will offer Microsoft computer terminals and Internet access points running Microsoft products.

Of course, part of the concept is that professionals no longer need to be at the office to be highly productive. The question is, is that necessarily a good thing? Sheraton asked StudyLogic to produce a work/life balance study. The results, as listed in their press release, are:

• 85% of U.S. professionals surveyed said that because of new technology, they feel compelled to be connected to work 24/7

• 81% say they work harder than they did five years ago

• 84% say they check their PDA's just before going to bed and as soon as they wake up

• 85% say they check their PDAs in the middle of the night

• 80% say they check their e mail before morning coffee

• 87% of professionals bring their PDA into the bedroom

• 35% say if forced to choose, they'd pick their PDA over their spouse

I'm not sure any of those are good, particularly the last one, which I hope was tongue-in-cheek. Either that or those marriages aren't the best. Despite the fact that these results seem to indicate at least a tad bit of overwork as well as some OCD, additional results from the survey indicated that:

• 85% say that PDA's and cell phones allow them to spend more time out of the office

• 79% believe they can be just as productive outside of the office as opposed to inside the office

• 84% feel that technology gives them more quality time and flexibility with family and friends

• 77% say their PDA helps them enjoy life more

I'm pretty sure my wife wouldn't agree with any of those four, since with the way that corporations have us chained to work, any of us carrying either Blackberrys or other PDAs connected to corporate email are expected to respond ASAP when an email comes in.

The study was conducted among 1,053 males and 455 females (all Americans), professionally employed, with income of $50K+, with 2+ business trips per year and a Blackberry or other mobile email device.

Interviews were conducted between July 30th and August 6th, 2008. The survey averaged 25 minutes in length with a margin of error of +/-3%.