Jeffrey, a 46-year-old East Coast lawyer who attributes the loss of a lucrative job in part to his preoccupation with the game Minesweeper, made it a practice at his next job to get up and get a glass of water or have direct contact with co-workers, whenever he felt the urge coming on. He finally removed the games not only from his own computer but from those of his secretary and his boss, who never noticed they were missing.

Orzack suggests that compulsive computer users might create a schedule that rewards them for finishing their work by giving them a break to do what they want on the computer. "I don't know if companies would go for that," Orzack muses. "But they might have to learn that people do have needs and can't be forced to be isolated for great lengths of time." Pam, who has still not sought help, is withdrawing further: she has just bought a pocket computer to use outside her office.

  WHAT YOU CAN DO

Is one of your employees battling an Internet addiction? Here are the warning signs, according to Caught in the Net, by Kimberly S. Young:

• Productivity Loss Though logging more overtime hours than ever, employees fail to meet deadlines or get the job done right.
• Skipped Lunches Suddenly forsaking coffee breaks and social lunches with co-workers, employees stay riveted to their computers.
• Excessive Fatigue Late nights surfing the Web at home coupled with extra hours to keep up at work mean lots of lost sleep.
• Guilty Looks When an unexpected visitor enters an employee's usually private cubicle or office, he or she may appear startled, shift in the chair and quickly type a command.
• More Mistakes Because they often toggle back and forth quickly between work tasks and Net play, employees suffer from lack of concentration.

And here's what to do about it:

• Set the Rules Create an Internet code of conduct for your company and require that employees sign it. Include information on privacy and accepted Internet use.
• Ask Questions If you notice a pattern of Internet addiction, ask your employee directly about his or her online activity.
• Find Help Refer an Internet-addicted employee to a counselor through your company's employee-assistance program or other outreach program.
• Tighten Access Every employee may not need access to the whole Internet. Consider blocking chat channels or newsgroups for those with no reason to use them.

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