no headphones at work policy sample

Earbuds are worse for ear health, so if the headphones are not noise-cancelling headphones that prevent a person from having normal workplace communication, it doesnt seem like a hill to die on. Her job may be the only lifeline she has right now. that is not cool and frankly extremely rude. Managers are obligated to manage themselves first in order to manage others well. I worked somewhere that didnt allow earbuds at all, not even just one in the ear. If you dont like headphones, you have to say you dont like headphones. Im not in IT, but I have a very similar role. Clothing is essential. Some people think that it can look rude, but I dont think its fair to have to live/work in discomfort to make random people more comfortable. Just something I need to take care of seems exactly right to me. Which is to say that the bosss rule is silly. If theres a problem, we should definitely solve the problem, but even then, we should articulate the problem and work together to find solutions, rather than just mandating solutions (or non-solutions, as seems to be the case here). I hope you can find something that helps you. Headphones are more visible and therefore more off-putting? Verbal directions or even orders for an emergency stop can be obscured by the use of personal headphones or earplugs. Earphones work better because it also signals to other people that I cant hear them initially. In those environments, nobody is permitted to wear a ring as a perk because the reason for not wearing them is to avoid a type of incident that I shall refrain from describing. I have ear issues, I cannot use ear buds. I have plenty of DV clients and they still need to talk to their ex about the kids. Ohit takes them 5 seconds to remove their headphones and that annoys you?? how do I avoid mom energy with my younger employees? Those who have never thought to pop a pair in at their desk, however, might not be privy to these potential plus points. Removing the over the ear headphones requires reaching up, lifting then off and setting them down, or lifting them off and draping around your neck. My initial reaction to the actual question wasnot a charitable one. Honestly, almost any IT department using a ticketing system wouldnt really have call support as one of the common communication methods. Because youre being very nit picky LW#1. So, if the whiner person came to you subsequently and asked whyd you promote Bob over me would you literally say to them because you whined and made trouble for me with HR? Would you put that in writing or say it in front of witnesses? Even though their job is fixing stuff for people, it seems like a terrible approach to have them always switching to latest and loudest and never having a time where they can focus on figuring out fixes! My org recently rolled out sweeping changes to our expense reimbursement and vendor payment policy. I also have issues with people noticing me wearing earbuds since I have long hair and you cant see my ears. When in doubt, aim for lower volume, especially if you are working close to others. So, if this rule stays, should the employer or the employee pay for them ? Yeah Im somewhat hard of hearing, and because Im young people dont realise until they either startle me or I have to ask for them to repeat themselves. When someone is wearing headphones at my work, I gently wave at the side of them to get their attention without touching them or scaring them. Does the company has a support ticketing system, IM, phones, anything other than physically walking in on a support person when you have an issue? Headphones are not a perk. I hope that people who do this know that many of the rest of us have to listen to the psss-psss-tsst-pss-ts of their dangling earbud and its super annoying. Headphones can impede organic collaboration. Pay close attention to the type of work you are trying to complete and adjust your playlist as needed. And I dont think either of them are handling it very well. And as IT people, they really wont lack for other workplaces that do allow headphones. You need to have a really solid reason and you need to pitch it better as to why you want to eliminate them. I agree. That depends entirely on the office culture. Im a little taken aback that people seem to think that headphones are natural part of the office when in fact they are a perk. As someone who also cannot use earbuds, Id be upset if using listening devices were allowed for some people but not for others because it seems an arbitrary rather than a policy based rule. Never wear headphones in meetings. I answer this question and four others over at Inc. today, where Im revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). Studies show that listening to music can relieve stress, relieve tedium and even mask tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I find this unnerving when I approach either of them and have to wait. This is what I came here to say! Yes, I am at work and I dont work in a dungeon as a submissive, so I expect my boss to stay out of my ass on certain things. Was this a nesting fail or something? Having researched a lot of those as a possible purchase for myselfnoise-cancelling earbuds are frequently bulkier than regular earbuds. We dont have enough information to say with certainty which. Ten minutes? When people wear earphones, nobody even realizes it, so (some) coworkers tend to call out someones name Jennifer? then progressively louder and louder until its at a screaming level JENNIFER? I simply expected managers to have common sense (they did) and to know that noise + high level of accuracy for detailed tasks = disaster even for nuerotypical people. i recently put a mirror up because my back is to the entrance of my desk and i use noise cancelling headphones. I would take that into consideration going forward when it came to things like raises and promotions They might not have any! We respond to dispatch calls and someone running up to an ambulance screaming that they have an emergency is going to be firmly told to call 911. Others have pointed out that they would have to remove an earbud, so still a delay. The skin where ear pods touch will get inflamed and break down. I cant compare them to the more expensive/better known ones as I have not used those. Then a couple of months later surprised me with a six-month probation and an unacceptable mark on my performance. Unless the employees are sitting at their desks with their hands clasped constantly awaiting a new task theyre likely working on things between the in-person visits. Yep! 10 0 obj At this point, I told him this was my rule and he then made a beeline to HR. Its not about adult vs. not adult. Your comment doesnt seem to be in response to anything I actually said. Youre there to do a job, and if you cant concentrate because Bob across the aisle cant be bothered to wear headphones while listening to music, its worse than two people standing directly behind you yapping away about every topic under the sun except work. so many people will start having neck and hand issues from the poor ergonomics of laptops. I should also note that said AirPods were a Christmas gift to me, from my executives. If youre the help desk and your primary role is to help people with IT issues, I guess. Does he have small ear canals or a hearing aid? It makes it hard to focus and easier for folks to interrupt you with non-sequitors or generally disrespect your time/lunch breaks. A good manager would have explained it up front, but since they didnt, you are you going to have to ask. ?QP-KrPP8[0_s!-Jn3XJzRUw>"^Zb,m2[zU"*XE^d(\(/E^D~XE)2,W-VGc_h[UA&,Hdi[RdV6\ Its a tool. You would say that is petty, and it is probably, but I am not going to put up with that kind of insubordination. Ive also had them then need to devote time to intense data entry and the noise of the phones someone else is picking up and the chatter in the office is very distracting, we dont have an office to move them to, so to make their lives easier, they use headphones for that kind of product. Theyre not precisely bellowing or yelling at each other; they all have very deep, resonant voices so boomy was the best I could describe them. So, youre saying you would retaliate against an employee who reported a problem to HR? Either way, neither outcome would really change the OPs situation and likely would not change the co-workers behavior. Keep in mind that in an open office environment, noticeable headphones can be an asset. I expected them to want no listening devices, but imposing one form over another seemscapricious. My dad wore the behind the ear type of hearing aids. The concept of personal / private medical problem = gendered issue is quickly disappearing. People were expected to do so in order for us to track inquiries and keep appropriate staffing levels. I imagine thats at plan here. They need to be able to work on issues by balancing most pressing/first come first serve/most complicated. The OPs employees may or may not be the same, but it might be worth considering. Huh, count me as another one who would think that the point of a ticket system is that it routes through the system so you DONT have to go down to IT and chat with the IT guy. Earbuds are the same thing with the same problem, just less noticeable, and thus less likely to cause people to know they need to get the employees attention. Music without lyrics or music you are very familiar with is best for enhancing your concentration. Wearing headphones helps. Zeroing in on construction sites makes sense due to the nature of the work and all of the moving equipment, but its not the only situation where earbuds can pose a problem. Most workers (and certainly most skilled workers) wouldnt care for that approach. These would all be within your authority to impose without warning, but who would want to work for you? If they came up and said oh hey, I meant for that rule to take effect this minute, please dont use your headphones. I would use one of those lines you suggested. People wear headphones or headsets for online meetings because they HEAR better. Or are you banning their use for meetings as well? Earbuds are incredibly uncomfortable for me because I have an ear canal deformity which makes it almost impossible to find comfortable earbuds. I was not speaking to accommodations but I would have hoped that would be assumed so that people dont have to make caveats for every opinion presented in a comment section. Abusers are manipulative and they are good at controlling their partners, thats what lead to this situation in the first place. Headphones and earbuds offer great musical sound by canceling out most or all of the ambient noise around you. And if said employee ran to HR rather than discuss the situation with me, I would also (again) wonder why. Aoshida Shanling. Its not a coincidence that I work in jobs that benefit from being able to iteratively create systems and navigate complicated conceptual webs and not in jobs that are centered more around throughput of medium-complexity decisions Ive tried working in jobs like that and they have gone horribly for all concerned, so I do things that Im good at instead. IF your concern was that people dont know if it is ok to interrupt them, which I really dont think is your concern, have them post a note on the cubicle that says please wave to get my attention. Or have them put a mirror up so they can see when people are approaching. tell the internal clients office hours are X-Y; otherwise use the ticketing system I appreciate your comment so much! But for high focus tasks where I need to block out noise? Headphones are one of the few things that make open office hell tolerable. I agree with Alisons comment that if these are help-desk type roles where you expect/encourage a lot of walk-up traffic and are trying to create an approachable vibe, thats one thing but if these are IT staff with broad responsibilities or the help desk has a phone/ticket system/catch-all inbox and some people just prefer to approach in person, then I dont think in a healthy office environment that the need to look approachable to that limited group of people who have a personal preference for walking up to the desk should trump the benefit to staff of using the headphone style most comfortable/preferred by them to reduce distractions and increase their productivity. They arent there to instantly respond to your every whim at the specific moment of your choosing, theyre there to work. Its one thing if you want to cultivate a certain professional presentation in your department, but unless you are subsequently sending them home and/or giving them a stipend to immediately update their possessions, expecting same-day compliance is really over the top. ), the majority of tickets actually involve people being unable to use the ticketing system or phone due to network/telephony issues. I never got anywhere near mentioning female anatomy. If youre fine with people wearing earbuds, you should be fine with them wearing headphones. It is earphones this time, maybe next employee doesnt like his hours or his work. 9 0 obj There is a switch to turn on/off the noise cancelling, and you can use the noise cancelling with or without music, and listen to music with or without the noise cancelling. also, someone might be on the phone, or concentrating and finishing their thought, and youd still have to wait. Im sure the OPs feelings of anxiety are genuinely described; but there was a whole lotta knee jerking going on there that should have remained internal. ADA issue? If theyre talking to me about it, its obviously something they want done. OP would also have to wait if the employee were on the phone to a client, or if Grandboss were standing at employees desk discussing a different project. Our management has the same reasoning you do, and say that we shouldnt feel entitled not to be interrupted at any time for a question from anyone, which is super frustrating. In that case, it is furnished to the exact addressee in order to provide certain details of any kinds. In my experience, when Ive notified my manager I have PT, no further questions are asked. (Im super thankful NOT to have an open office. I had to be aware of what was going on around me and to be ready for any customers, vendors, or board members who may show up. Wearing personal headphones in the workplace also presents a hazard for the operation of moving equipment such as golf carts; security vehicle's; bikes; buses; etc. I think the LW had waited 2 weeks for a formal job offer, after having been informally offered the job. Umdid you even read my post? Perhaps theyre using headphones to subliminally prompt the other employees to use the IT helpdesk ticketing system? It is not clear in your comment that you are only speaking to the people you believe are just being babies whining about noise and headphones, and not to the people who actually need them. by Taylor Soper on April 8, 2014 at 6:10 pm. OP doesnt like waiting for acknowledgement, made up her own rule, chastised someone in a ridiculous period of time after addressing the rule, then tried to assert more control by stating outright its her rule and must be obeyed. %PDF-1.7 I wear earbuds to help me block out distractions, such as other conversations, people walking by, noise from the nearby coffee area, and so on. I could go on &on but I had to get physio for all those injuries. I do not have earbuds at all. % Ive had men give me some version of this, too. Also, low-end noise-cancelling headphones are easier to find than low-end noise-cancelling earbuds, for those on tight budgets. If the wearing of headsets or listening to music was preventing an employee from satisfying this duty, then it would be reasonable to request that the employee not wear the headset or listen to music while working. I suspect that if you say oh, just some boring stuff, everythings fine, no one will guess its about your Lady Business. Both these things offended a lot of older people in the office (including my boss) who perceived both these types of headphones as making the person not approachable. ), OP#4: Hands up here as another member of the needing regular physical therapy for pelvic floor issues club. There will still be a momentary pause while they take the buds out. Yeah, 99.99% of people are going to assume its for an old wrist injury or something, even if we know about the pelvic floor therapy. 9rM5SM>&o This policy is ridiculous. If both parties actually discussed the issue there would likely have been a better outcome. OPs suggesting other people are probably just as unnerved by this as they are but are they actually, or is OP just projecting? : Small pet peeveAK is Alaska, not Arkansas. I am getting a lowkey anxiety attack trying to imagine what might happen if an IT support person is working on such a ticket, and random coworkers keep walking up to their desk and interrupting them, because they can. CAN she make a policy edict that her preference for earbuds over headphones should be enforced for her team? Who knows, she might have felt that in her car away from where the kids could hear would be the best solution. If you are thinking of establishing policies that allow music in the workplace, keep in mind the following considerations: Mandating the use of headphones. Weve become a very plugged-in society. Smaller companies likely wont have someone dedicated only to end-user internal support, but larger companies very much will. I would want to stop this running to HR over silly stuff real quick. Now I need to ask HR what I need to do to get accommodation. Telling me I had to use earbuds would be functionally the same as telling me I couldnt block out distracting noise, and my productivity would drop. Then you suck it up for a few hours. Something besides earbuds was going on between this employee and boss. If the answer is no, then running to HR is an extreme response. In additionearbuds are uncomfortable as heck for a lot of people (me included) and over-the-ear headphones are typically far, far better for your ears and hearing. Theres nothing reasonable about any of that. I dont have any better advice to offer than Alison has already given, but I just wanted to let you know you arent alone. It seems to me that earphones would be quicker to take off because you just grab the band and pull it backwards down to your neck vs. pulling out two separate earbuds. Yes, its unnecessarily rigid to expect instant compliance with something that isnt a safety or legal compliance issue. I actually have a bunch of ADHD students who would disagree. No facial hair? I cant see how headphones would interfere with the ability to read an email or a ticket notification, or prevent people from sending them over through the system. I agree. I think plenty of people have been chiming in saying they wouldnt jump to this conclusion if their employee declined to provide details or used a brush off when asked further (also agreed with you that managers shouldnt ask for detail, but some do out of concern/politeness). You can address the work issue of her oversharing as you would any performance issue. Dont let headphones interfere with natural collaboration in the workplace. People are different from each other and have different needs and abilities. Never fear, you won't begin receiving daily sales emails that belong in a spam folder. I had understood it to be a perfectly acceptable standard in IT work for the reasons you mentioned. I dont like how you look when you work, and also, I resent the 2-second wait I have to do to get your attention when youre working on something. Then its a boss thats making new rules willy nilly without solid reason behind it, other than Dont like, makes me uncomfortable, gonna change it immediately!. I agree with this as I also work in IT, and think we need to be aware of what is happening around us, though we also have days where we can work on projects and it helps to have something as a buffer for distractions. With the advancement of technology, things like music and podcasts are always at our fingertips and they can help whittle away the long hours of downtime or even at work. The Etymotic ones, for example. Why is everyone approaching these people for support so often that a 30-second delay for them to take their headphones off has become a problem? Just like how we dont suddenly just spring laws into immediate action either, so why try to do it in an office? HR may even know about a disability he has disclosed and that is why he went to HR. And if you lose interest, it's always easy to unsubscribe with a single click. Makes me feel like I can hear my brain working. I work in an office with a super-strict no headphones, earbuds, nothing of any kind rule, and I just want to say that it SUCKS. The cell phone company policymay also be referred to as a no mobile phones at work policy or a bring your own device(BYOD) policy. Different positions demand different levels of immediate access. For workers who currently use radios or speakers that might . (And believe me, you do NOT want to try to have a conversation with me sans hearing aids, unless you have a very loud, clear voice or are a big fan of having to repeat everything 2 or 3 times.

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