iPods in the Workplace: Diligence or Distraction?

Word Count:
1148

Summary:
The most wonderful and irritating thing about iPods in the office, says author Barbara 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." she said. "The downside is that people get so caught up in what they are listening to that they don't hear others talking to them."


Keywords:
ipod, iphone, apple, mac, gadget, zune, itunes


Article Body:
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 Web site 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."

<a href="www.turkiyespot.com/ipods-world.com">Tuning Out to Get Cranking</a>

Office drones everywhere have been doing the same thing for years, and their ranks seem to be growing.

A recent survey by Spherion, a recruiting and staffing company, found 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 improve their job satisfaction and productivity.

"I am in favor of any technology that can be used for entertainment while looking exactly like work to the casual observer," jokes "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams in an e-mail interview. "And any entertainment you can find during a business meeting is well worth the risk of being detected."

However, what do bosses and colleagues think about the iPod invasion? That's where things can get complicated.
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 is wrapped up in a Jordin Sparks song hear her telephone, or a fire alarm?

What about security issues? Is it possible 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 few, including international firms like National Semiconductor and Capital One Financial, have even purchased them in bulk for employees who can use them to listen to training sessions and other company communications at their desks, while traveling or even at home.

<a href="www.turkiyespot.com/ipods-world.com">'You've Got to Be Careful'</a>

However, not all companies are excited about the invasion of the iPod people.

Asked about iPods at Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) in Folsom, Calif., company spokesperson Teri Munger pauses.

"I have never seen anyone with an iPod in the workplace," at least in her building, she says.

The tiny players are not as innocuous as they look, some companies 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's 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 seem to be most commonly used 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 seems to keep people motivated and moving," Wiatre says.
Not All Workplaces Right for iPod

Daniel Robin, a workplace consultant in Santa Cruz, Calif., agrees that the devices have their place at some work sites.

<a href="www.turkiyespot.com/ipods-world.com">However, at others? Not so much.</a>

"It seems fine if a person is flying solo, like an information-technology technician who spends a lot of time in transit to user sites," Robin says. However, they're "safety no-nos," he says, in other cases.

"What if you can't hear a forklift approaching?" Robin asks.

Or a colleague complaining?

The most wonderful and irritating thing about iPods in 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 <a href="mailto:Rules@WorkRules@Work