Aplet, 32 as well as a former rock musician, rarely separates himself from his iPod, and that includes while he's at work. When he's not enjoying his downloaded music, from Bob Marley to the White Stripes, he listens to podcasts about Web design. Recently he plugged his iPod into the office's audio system and blared holiday music, much to the delight of his fellow staffers.
"My iPod's a lifesaver," says Aplet. "If I'm coding a Internet website and I need to be focused and not distracted by conversations, I'll put on a headset and tune out. Then I'll just pound away on the keyboard."
Tuning Out to Get Cranking
Office drones everywhere have been doing the exact same factor for years, and their ranks appear to be growing.A recent survey by Spherion, a recruiting and staffing business, discovered that almost a third of U.S. workers now listen to music on their iPods or similar devices while on the job. About 80 percent of those workers said the devices enhance their job satisfaction and productivity.
"I am in favor of any technologies that may be used for entertainment whilst looking specifically like work to the casual observer," jokes "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams in an e-mail interview. "And any entertainment you are able to discover during a enterprise meeting is properly worth the risk of being detected."
Nonetheless, what do bosses and colleagues take into consideration the iPod invasion? That's where issues can get complex.
Closing Doors
Is listening to music at work really a boost to productivity, they wonder, or is it a distraction?
Does plugging into an iPod isolate listeners from their coworkers, shutting down natural communication and driving wedges between younger employees and their less-technologically savvy colleagues? Will an employee who's wrapped up in a Jordin Sparks song hear her telephone, or a fire alarm?
What about security problems? Is it feasible for a disgruntled worker to download sensitive corporate information as easily as he can a song from iTunes?
Some companies, typically smaller, tech-oriented firms, are fine with their employees firing up iPods and MP3 players on the job. A couple of, which includes international firms like National Semiconductor and Capital 1 Financial, have even purchased them in bulk for employees who can use them to listen to training sessions and other business communications at their desks, although traveling or even at home.
You've Got to Be Careful
However, not all organizations are excited about the invasion of the iPod people.
Asked about iPods at Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) in Folsom, Calif., business spokesperson Teri Munger pauses. "I have by no means seen anybody with an iPod inside the workplace," at least in her building, she says. The tiny players aren't as innocuous as they look, some organizations insist, and raise some serious workplace questions.
"They're wonderful devices," says Barbara Pachter, an office-etiquette and communications specialist in New Jersey. "With all of these kinds of technologies, though, it is about how you use them within your individual work space. You have got to be careful."
The Spherion survey, conducted by Harris Interactive (Nasdaq: HPOL), found that younger workers are most likely to listen to music on their iPods while working. Almost half of adults ages 25 to 29 say they do so, compared with 22 percent of workers ages 50 to 64.
Those iPods, MP3 players and the like seem to be most generally utilized amongst workers with "more monotonous jobs," like filing and photocopying, and solitary jobs that call for little interaction with colleagues or the public, says Brett Wiatre, Spherion's Western region director of operations.
"In that type of niche scenario, the music seems to keep folks motivated and moving," Wiatre says. Not All Workplaces Correct for iPod
Daniel Robin, a workplace consultant in Santa Cruz, Calif., agrees that the devices have their place at some work internet sites.
Nevertheless, at others? Not so much.
"It appears fine if a person is flying solo, like an information-technology technician who spends a lot of time in transit to user internet sites," Robin says. Nevertheless, they're "safety no-nos," he says, in other cases.
"What should you can't hear a forklift approaching?" Robin asks.
Or a colleague complaining?
Probably the most fantastic and irritating factor about iPods within the office, says Pachter, is their capability to cut workers off from the actual world.
"The 'pro' part of it is that their music doesn't really bother other people, and it may help some people focus," says Pachter, coauthor of the book New Rules@Work ($13.95, Prentice Hall, 272 pages).
"The downside is that folks get so caught up in what they're listening to that they don't hear others talking to them. When their headsets are on, it's impossible to tell if they're listening to you, or listening to their music. It drives me crazy!" iPod iSolation
"Dilbert" creator Adams, who has poked fun at the phenomenon in his wildly popular comic strip about life in the work cubicle, says he doubts that any person "is much more productive with distractions than with out."
"Still, anything that makes your coworkers much less likely to talk to you has to be an excellent factor," he jokes.
Dale Carnegie Training takes the matter a bit much more seriously. The business advises caution when making use of iPods at work.
"Even if your office sanctions iPod use, very first consider your particular position and objectives," Dale Carnegie's Internet web site reads. "Are you new and trying to form great working relationships?
"The iPod might isolate you and discourage interaction with other people."
Setting Policies
At Intel, the decision about whether using iPods is proper is up to individual managers, says Munger. Generally, it is acceptable if "work isn't impacted, employees are acting in a safe manner and their cube mates are not being distracted," she says.
Wiatre of Spherion says some businesses are setting policies about when and how iPods could be utilized on the job, just as they have placed restrictions on the use of cell phones and other personal technological devices.
"Some of our clients ban them," he says. "Others are setting policies specific to the job as well as the work environment. We encourage employers to set established, consistent standards, so that you will find no misunderstandings."
Folsom startup SynapSense has no such policies. Most of its 40 employees, who hail from such far-flung locations as South Africa, India and Barbados, embrace iPods at work, says spokesperson Patricia Nealon.
"We have a very diverse set of folks, and they listen to all kinds of different music," she says. "In a cubicle environment where people retain their own space and want to focus on what's right in front of them, it works out great."
For software developers or code writers, anyway. Nealon herself leaves her iPod at house. "I'm a marketing and advertising individual, and I enjoy interacting with people around me," she says. "I only use my iPod when I work out."
"My iPod's a lifesaver," says Aplet. "If I'm coding a Internet website and I need to be focused and not distracted by conversations, I'll put on a headset and tune out. Then I'll just pound away on the keyboard."
Tuning Out to Get Cranking
Office drones everywhere have been doing the exact same factor for years, and their ranks appear to be growing.A recent survey by Spherion, a recruiting and staffing business, discovered that almost a third of U.S. workers now listen to music on their iPods or similar devices while on the job. About 80 percent of those workers said the devices enhance their job satisfaction and productivity.
"I am in favor of any technologies that may be used for entertainment whilst looking specifically like work to the casual observer," jokes "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams in an e-mail interview. "And any entertainment you are able to discover during a enterprise meeting is properly worth the risk of being detected."
Nonetheless, what do bosses and colleagues take into consideration the iPod invasion? That's where issues can get complex.
Closing Doors
Is listening to music at work really a boost to productivity, they wonder, or is it a distraction?
Does plugging into an iPod isolate listeners from their coworkers, shutting down natural communication and driving wedges between younger employees and their less-technologically savvy colleagues? Will an employee who's wrapped up in a Jordin Sparks song hear her telephone, or a fire alarm?
What about security problems? Is it feasible for a disgruntled worker to download sensitive corporate information as easily as he can a song from iTunes?
Some companies, typically smaller, tech-oriented firms, are fine with their employees firing up iPods and MP3 players on the job. A couple of, which includes international firms like National Semiconductor and Capital 1 Financial, have even purchased them in bulk for employees who can use them to listen to training sessions and other business communications at their desks, although traveling or even at home.
You've Got to Be Careful
However, not all organizations are excited about the invasion of the iPod people.
Asked about iPods at Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) in Folsom, Calif., business spokesperson Teri Munger pauses. "I have by no means seen anybody with an iPod inside the workplace," at least in her building, she says. The tiny players aren't as innocuous as they look, some organizations insist, and raise some serious workplace questions.
"They're wonderful devices," says Barbara Pachter, an office-etiquette and communications specialist in New Jersey. "With all of these kinds of technologies, though, it is about how you use them within your individual work space. You have got to be careful."
The Spherion survey, conducted by Harris Interactive (Nasdaq: HPOL), found that younger workers are most likely to listen to music on their iPods while working. Almost half of adults ages 25 to 29 say they do so, compared with 22 percent of workers ages 50 to 64.
Those iPods, MP3 players and the like seem to be most generally utilized amongst workers with "more monotonous jobs," like filing and photocopying, and solitary jobs that call for little interaction with colleagues or the public, says Brett Wiatre, Spherion's Western region director of operations.
"In that type of niche scenario, the music seems to keep folks motivated and moving," Wiatre says. Not All Workplaces Correct for iPod
Daniel Robin, a workplace consultant in Santa Cruz, Calif., agrees that the devices have their place at some work internet sites.
Nevertheless, at others? Not so much.
"It appears fine if a person is flying solo, like an information-technology technician who spends a lot of time in transit to user internet sites," Robin says. Nevertheless, they're "safety no-nos," he says, in other cases.
"What should you can't hear a forklift approaching?" Robin asks.
Or a colleague complaining?
Probably the most fantastic and irritating factor about iPods within the office, says Pachter, is their capability to cut workers off from the actual world.
"The 'pro' part of it is that their music doesn't really bother other people, and it may help some people focus," says Pachter, coauthor of the book New Rules@Work ($13.95, Prentice Hall, 272 pages).
"The downside is that folks get so caught up in what they're listening to that they don't hear others talking to them. When their headsets are on, it's impossible to tell if they're listening to you, or listening to their music. It drives me crazy!" iPod iSolation
"Dilbert" creator Adams, who has poked fun at the phenomenon in his wildly popular comic strip about life in the work cubicle, says he doubts that any person "is much more productive with distractions than with out."
"Still, anything that makes your coworkers much less likely to talk to you has to be an excellent factor," he jokes.
Dale Carnegie Training takes the matter a bit much more seriously. The business advises caution when making use of iPods at work.
"Even if your office sanctions iPod use, very first consider your particular position and objectives," Dale Carnegie's Internet web site reads. "Are you new and trying to form great working relationships?
"The iPod might isolate you and discourage interaction with other people."
Setting Policies
At Intel, the decision about whether using iPods is proper is up to individual managers, says Munger. Generally, it is acceptable if "work isn't impacted, employees are acting in a safe manner and their cube mates are not being distracted," she says.
Wiatre of Spherion says some businesses are setting policies about when and how iPods could be utilized on the job, just as they have placed restrictions on the use of cell phones and other personal technological devices.
"Some of our clients ban them," he says. "Others are setting policies specific to the job as well as the work environment. We encourage employers to set established, consistent standards, so that you will find no misunderstandings."
Folsom startup SynapSense has no such policies. Most of its 40 employees, who hail from such far-flung locations as South Africa, India and Barbados, embrace iPods at work, says spokesperson Patricia Nealon.
"We have a very diverse set of folks, and they listen to all kinds of different music," she says. "In a cubicle environment where people retain their own space and want to focus on what's right in front of them, it works out great."
For software developers or code writers, anyway. Nealon herself leaves her iPod at house. "I'm a marketing and advertising individual, and I enjoy interacting with people around me," she says. "I only use my iPod when I work out."
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