Aplet, 32 and 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 web site and I have 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 performing 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 nearly 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 boost their job satisfaction and productivity.
"I am in favor of any technologies that can be employed for entertainment whilst searching precisely like work to the casual observer," jokes "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams in an e-mail interview. "And any entertainment you'll be able to locate during a business meeting is well worth the risk of being detected."
Nevertheless, what do bosses and colleagues think about the iPod invasion? That is where issues can get complicated.
Closing Doors
Is listening to music at work actually a increase 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 is 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 details as easily as he can a song from iTunes?
Some companies, usually smaller, tech-oriented firms, are fine with their employees firing up iPods and MP3 players on the job. Several, which includes international firms like National Semiconductor and Capital 1 Monetary, have even purchased them in bulk for employees who can use them to listen to training sessions along with other business communications at their desks, while traveling or even at home.
You've Got to Be Careful
Nonetheless, not all organizations are excited about the invasion of the iPod individuals.
Asked about iPods at Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) in Folsom, Calif., organization spokesperson Teri Munger pauses. "I have by no means observed any person with an iPod inside the workplace," at least in her developing, she says. The tiny players aren't as innocuous as they look, some organizations insist, and raise some serious workplace questions.
"They're fantastic 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 in your individual work space. You've 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 appear to be most commonly utilized among workers with "more monotonous jobs," like filing and photocopying, and solitary jobs that require little interaction with colleagues or the public, says Brett Wiatre, Spherion's Western region director of operations.
"In that kind of niche situation, the music appears to keep individuals motivated and moving," Wiatre says. Not All Workplaces Proper for iPod
Daniel Robin, a workplace consultant in Santa Cruz, Calif., agrees that the devices have their place at some work websites.
However, at others? Not so much.
"It appears fine if an individual is flying solo, like an information-technology technician who spends plenty of time in transit to user sites," Robin says. Nonetheless, they're "safety no-nos," he says, in other instances.
"What should you can't hear a forklift approaching?" Robin asks.
Or a colleague complaining?
The most great and irritating thing about iPods inside the office, says Pachter, is their ability to cut workers off from the real 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 other people talking to them. When their headsets are on, it is 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 common comic strip about life inside the work cubicle, says he doubts that anybody "is much more productive with distractions than without."
"Still, anything that makes your coworkers less likely to talk to you has to be a good thing," he jokes.
Dale Carnegie Training takes the matter a bit much more seriously. The business advises caution when utilizing iPods at work.
"Even if your office sanctions iPod use, initial think about your specific position and goals," Dale Carnegie's Web site reads. "Are you new and attempting to form good working relationships?
"The iPod might isolate you and discourage interaction with other people."
Setting Policies
At Intel, the choice about whether utilizing iPods is proper is up to individual managers, says Munger. Generally, it's acceptable if "work is not impacted, employees are acting in a secure manner and their cube mates aren't becoming 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 as well as other individual technological devices.
"Some of our clients ban them," he says. "Others are setting policies specific to the job and 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 extremely diverse set of folks, and they listen to all kinds of distinct music," she says. "In a cubicle environment where folks retain their own space and require to focus on what's proper in front of them, it works out fantastic."
For software program developers or code writers, anyway. Nealon herself leaves her iPod at house. "I'm a marketing person, and I adore interacting with folks 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 web site and I have 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 performing 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 nearly 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 boost their job satisfaction and productivity.
"I am in favor of any technologies that can be employed for entertainment whilst searching precisely like work to the casual observer," jokes "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams in an e-mail interview. "And any entertainment you'll be able to locate during a business meeting is well worth the risk of being detected."
Nevertheless, what do bosses and colleagues think about the iPod invasion? That is where issues can get complicated.
Closing Doors
Is listening to music at work actually a increase 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 is 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 details as easily as he can a song from iTunes?
Some companies, usually smaller, tech-oriented firms, are fine with their employees firing up iPods and MP3 players on the job. Several, which includes international firms like National Semiconductor and Capital 1 Monetary, have even purchased them in bulk for employees who can use them to listen to training sessions along with other business communications at their desks, while traveling or even at home.
You've Got to Be Careful
Nonetheless, not all organizations are excited about the invasion of the iPod individuals.
Asked about iPods at Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) in Folsom, Calif., organization spokesperson Teri Munger pauses. "I have by no means observed any person with an iPod inside the workplace," at least in her developing, she says. The tiny players aren't as innocuous as they look, some organizations insist, and raise some serious workplace questions.
"They're fantastic 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 in your individual work space. You've 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 appear to be most commonly utilized among workers with "more monotonous jobs," like filing and photocopying, and solitary jobs that require little interaction with colleagues or the public, says Brett Wiatre, Spherion's Western region director of operations.
"In that kind of niche situation, the music appears to keep individuals motivated and moving," Wiatre says. Not All Workplaces Proper for iPod
Daniel Robin, a workplace consultant in Santa Cruz, Calif., agrees that the devices have their place at some work websites.
However, at others? Not so much.
"It appears fine if an individual is flying solo, like an information-technology technician who spends plenty of time in transit to user sites," Robin says. Nonetheless, they're "safety no-nos," he says, in other instances.
"What should you can't hear a forklift approaching?" Robin asks.
Or a colleague complaining?
The most great and irritating thing about iPods inside the office, says Pachter, is their ability to cut workers off from the real 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 other people talking to them. When their headsets are on, it is 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 common comic strip about life inside the work cubicle, says he doubts that anybody "is much more productive with distractions than without."
"Still, anything that makes your coworkers less likely to talk to you has to be a good thing," he jokes.
Dale Carnegie Training takes the matter a bit much more seriously. The business advises caution when utilizing iPods at work.
"Even if your office sanctions iPod use, initial think about your specific position and goals," Dale Carnegie's Web site reads. "Are you new and attempting to form good working relationships?
"The iPod might isolate you and discourage interaction with other people."
Setting Policies
At Intel, the choice about whether utilizing iPods is proper is up to individual managers, says Munger. Generally, it's acceptable if "work is not impacted, employees are acting in a secure manner and their cube mates aren't becoming 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 as well as other individual technological devices.
"Some of our clients ban them," he says. "Others are setting policies specific to the job and 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 extremely diverse set of folks, and they listen to all kinds of distinct music," she says. "In a cubicle environment where folks retain their own space and require to focus on what's proper in front of them, it works out fantastic."
For software program developers or code writers, anyway. Nealon herself leaves her iPod at house. "I'm a marketing person, and I adore interacting with folks around me," she says. "I only use my iPod when I work out."
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