Use of headphones at work

I do ...

I rely on my iPod to block out distracting conversations when I need to focus and concentrate.  When I started here six years ago, headphones were NOT permissible however we've become much more condensed.  It can get quite loud in here and we're all working with numbers that can have large ramifications so attention to detail is critical. 

A caveat: we have a phone system that flashes on the computer screen when a call is incoming so it's less likely that we will miss a call because we didn't hear the phone ring (or see the little tiny speck of a light on the phone flash when the phone is ringing.)  The thought of missing an important call from a client was the key reason we were originally prohibited from headphones.  (ANY call from a client is automatically "important" by the way.)

I think that cubicle dwelling and the tiny earbuds have made it less off-putting.  The volume inside a cubicle haven can be quite disconcerting at times and the tiny earbuds make it less obvious that someone is tuning the world out (which could be construed as rude behaviour.) 

Besides, most "higher management" sit in offices where they have the luxury of closing their office door when it gets loud in Cubicle Land!  (LOL - just as I added the "!" a VP just shut his door so he could concentrate on his conference call.  I could hear him/his call and I sit two rows away and three cubes up the row - that's how lousy (or good?!) the accoustics are.)  So yeah, point made.  The "front line managers" are usually in the thick of things where leadership above that level are usually safely ensconced in their own Cone of Silence.  

I would defy anyone at the Director or VP or three-layers-from-the-client/customer to sit out in the open and try to concentrate on the budget with umpteen conversations swirling around their head.  Cubes are great space and cost savers but they're hell on the actual people sitting in them.

Depends on culture

Ultimately, this depends on the culture of your company.

I am one of the VP's that the last poster mentioned that has the luxury of closing his door.    I also realize that not everyone has this luxury and I think nothing less of people that plug in their headphones when sitting in cubes (our cubes are 6X8).      However, we are a Software company where the rules of what is professional are a little more lax than other industries.     Conversely, I used to work for a consulting company where this would have been and still is completely unacceptable. 

To fully weigh in, I would have to know:

What do other people do?

What is your company culture?

Does your company have a policy it?

Are you worried about what other think if you do it?   

etc

Use wisely, grasshopper

Hi Iann22,

Every company I've been at (4 startups, one government agency, and an insurance company) has enjoyed iPod (or similar). I find that, not always, but sometimes, some music is very effective at focusing me or reving me up after my natural 2:30/3:00 energy-drop. I've always looked around at what corporate culture is first, though. You never do know. :)

Some caveates from experiencing this:

• Don't blast the tunes so I can hear them outside the head phones.
• If you listen to political or religious podcasts (I love theology debates, they get me thinking), be sure you won't pull the plug on your computer accidentally and offend your neighbors. :) These are best left on a device without a speaker (iPod). Any audio clip without a context is just deadly. :)
• Do not stream audio from the Internet unless you are sure it is OK. Pandora is great, but it's a huge waste of resources given what the internet connection is supposed to be earning the company. :)
• Do not listen to M-T podcasts. They are interesting and distracting. ;)

That last bullet is really the most important. If you have the luxury of listening to music at work, realize that it can be very constructive and very destructive. Know thyself and turn it off. I find that www.simplynoise.com usually drowns out the distactions well enough and it doesn't cost the company more bandwidth than the initial page download.

Hope this helps!

-basking2

Depends on what (else) you're doing.

Our company has two sites - one is a call centre where iPods are not allowed for obvious reasons, the other is predominantly (by population) IT, and quite a few have headphones on a lot of the time. As a project manager, while I recognise that it can help in certain circumstances, it's not always a good thing. I do regard it as rude and a lot of the time team productivity comes from collaboration. Shutting oneself off from the rest of the team doesn't help communication.

DeMarco and Lister had some thoughts on the subject in their book Peopleware. In essence, the effect that music has depends on what (else) you are doing. Since music is processed by the right-brain, which controls intuitive, creative thinking, that part of your brain has no further capacity for doing creative tasks, like problem-solving or writing computer programs. On the other hand, if you are studying, or doing repetitive tasks that simply require you to work uninterrupted, music can be beneficial. Then again, while listening to Mozart, Handel or Bach can have a very positive effect in aiding concentration, AC/DC or Led Zeppelin probably won't.

NO = OK I am old

It isn't professional.

You isolate yourself from your collegues.

Have you seen your CEO doing it?

It isn't appropriate to most workspaces. You are introducing a personal factor that can usually be correctly blamed as a distraction.

Chris

what's your goal?

So think about these questions:

Why do you want to listen privately?  Are you trying to distract yourself, or keep something in the environment from distracting you?  If it's the former, think about how you could make the work more engaging.  If it's the latter, can you do anything to reduce environmental distractions?

Is it okay to isolate yourself?  Is the work you're doing a really independent task, or will you be tempted to put off collaborating with others?

What's the organizational culture?  Do senior people have a private soundtrack for their day?  Are there norms for when and where people listen to iPods?  For example, are people in cubes often wired, but once you step into the hallway, would you raise eyebrows if there were wires dangling from your ears?

What are you listening to?  If your boss asks that question, will the answer raise eyebrows, or worse?  Is your musical (or podcast) taste sufficiently out of the mainstream that it would create a problem?  Are some of your podcasts inappropriate for the office? 

My organization has lots of music in it, though the older you are the more likely you have an iPod dock and keep the volume down.  The younger people (under 40) use earphones, or sometimes big Bose noise-canceling headphones when they are working alone.   Everybody understands the need to keep the volume down even if you're on earphones.  

One of my PTA buddies works in an office where everybody is on earphones nearly all the time.  Of course, they run a music venue. :-)

md-144

Thank you....

for calling people under 40 younger :-) 

"Have you seen your CEO doing it?"

Iann22: If you're likely to be considered for advancement to CEO, then maybe this is a valid yardstick regarding whether you should use headphones to block distractions in your work environment.

If that's not the case, it may turn out that your CEO would be impressed that you're finding ways to stay focused on your work.

You're getting some great advice here (ash is a terrific poster who ALWAYS thinks things through...).  And the questions/considerations that smgraham22, basking2, and MD144 ask are great.  That's what I've enjoyed about these forums for such a long time...

I really can't add to their value - except to suggest reading them again!

Attention Management

It wasn't long after I found podcasts that I found I couldn't listen to them at the office. They were so interesting that I couldn't split my attention between them and the work I was getting paid to do. I set up a specific office playlist that had instrumental music. I use it to cancel out the distractions around me. For as long as I can remember I've used music as a background noise, and I know that there are some people who don't like this. I like the recommendation above of using white noise to cancel distractions and will try that tomorrow. (By the way, "There's an App for that.")

I work with software development, so the culture is accepting of people listening to their iPods in their cubicles. The project I'm currently on has a policy where you're not allowed to wear headphones or earbuds away from your desk. Our customer is on site and we want to provide a professional appearance. I think it is an effective policy. I can still tune out the Dilbert-ville conversations, but interact with teammates in the halls.

This policy got me to leave my personal cell phone silenced at my desk. Before I was carrying it in my pocket and susceptible to being distracted throughout the day by leisure items. Now I don't notice these things happening until after the clock has stopped.

I hope it is clear that effective listening rules apply here. When you're talking with someone, turn off the music, take off the headphones/earbuds, put the device in the corner, and focus your attention on the other person so you can listen to what they are saying.

Almost Mandatory

When I started my current job, my supervisor suggested the use of headphones since the work environment was...well, let's call it "less than conducive to concentration."  I came from an environment where I worked from 2:30 PM to 12:30 AM so seven and a half hours of my shift was by myself.  I was able to concentrate on work and solely work from about 6:00 PM onward.  I moved to an environment where I spend 8 hours sitting in a small conference room lined with desks for five other people.  And, lucky me, my neighbor (about nine feet away) prefers to have loud telephone conversations, think out loud, and get chatty.  Needless to say, it's a big contrast and making the adjustment has been difficult.  Since my work involves primarily research and analytic writing, I've spent quite a bit of time in vacant offices and (when my boss will let me) away from the office.  But when I have to be in the office, headphones (even if I have nothing playing - it minimizes the likelihood I'll get irrelevant interruptions) have been a must to drown out the other noise.

Don't get me wrong - despite being inclined to analysis and logic - I'm very much a people person.  There's nothing I love more than a good conversation...just not when the goals of my organization need to come first.  Just my take on things.

--Andy