Becca... I don't have OCD but I don't let any electrical device that is not essential run while I am out of the house for a long while. That includes washer, dryer, oven, whatever. I would never run a slow cooker while I was gone for an 8 hour work shift. They can cause fires as is documented... VERY remote chance, but it HAS happened, usually due to a lack of liquid to distribute heat from the element(s).

With me, it would simply be a way to get more time for work in the late afternoon in my home office. As I start work between 4 and 6AM most days, it may work out well.