But without clear guidelines or a headphone policy at work, employees are left to decipher best practices on their own. Maybe, depends on the tone they used when they corrected me. I would however ask that they put mirrors in their cubes (if their backs are to the opening) so they can be more responsive to people. It took me 7 years and many tries to finally get out, I also went back after a restraining order. Internal units such as earbuds should be single user only due to hygiene issues. Yes exactly. Pick and choose when you wear headphones. Horrid. Earbuds can also raise ear wax accumulation, cause ear infections, gather dirt and bacteria, give birth to germs and make your eardrums burst even if theyd feel completely comfortable. Im extremely responsive there, because I can see people approaching, and I tend to ull my earbuds out as people approach. ' style of leadership. <.< I feel like I keep repeating myself but: headphones can also be an accommodation for ADA qualifying "invisible" disabilities, that make it exceedingly hard to concentrate or be productive when sensitive to distractions in your environment. It was a manager instituting a rule for their group that is within their purview. As Rob Walker writes in The New York Times: If they push further then say Its just an old injury you know how it is, you assume itll get better and then realise ages down the line that it never quite has, see a doctor and realise you should have mentioned it ages ago (which if its childbirth related probably isnt a lie) if they push further, reiterate about the note if its needed, say how much you appreciate their support, and offer to ask the doctor if there are any accommodations they can think of which would help. Presumably, there would be a period of acknowledgement required before responding if the techies were interrupted while wearing earbuds. So the obvious way to get my attention is to stand in the walkway, in my line of sight. Could be addressed by always having one person actively available covering the helpdesk function while the others concentrate, though, rather than a blanket ban. Oh, I agree, I was just noting how they come off to some people. But everyone knows that they can approach me when I have headphones in and all it means is I am listening to music/podcast. IF there seems to be some discrimination or some unfair treatment, then bring in HR, but until that conversation has been had, she has no idea what is up. Allowing things that can be accommodations for some / perks for others when possible can be a really important way to be a more genuinely inclusive workplace. Theres a lot of medical issues that a person might not want to discuss openly. (Such as unresponsive IT or intimidated users who avoid the helpdesk and then try to fix things themselves. I actually left a job because they had a rule that you couldnt listen to anything while at work. The problem could be that they need to just go over sometimes (because something time-sensitive hasnt been dealt with yet for instance and the client is actively waiting for it), but they dont because the helpdesk looks busy/they dont want to interrupt, and the headphones contribute to that perception. Again, this is assuming that the role doesn't REQUIRE incessant interruption. 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? I dont know if Id characterize OP as acting spoiled but it sounds a bonkers reason to decline an offer you really want. I work in a very small office and no HR. Even though you may not be listening to anything, simply having headphones on or even one earbud in makes it look like you arent interested in whatevers going on in the outside world. Yeah, but my boss aint my wife, and theres a lot of things you do to keep a spouse happy that you dont do for your boss. Working remotely, Jordan spends half of the year exploring different corners of the world. You have two completely separate problems here. Suffer in silence. This is great for when you need to get stuff done, but when you wear them all day, it can begin to interfere with other peoples work. CAN she make such a policy decision based on her belief that other people are as bothered by the brief delay it takes to remove headphones (but not by the delay it takes to remove earbuds)? She is. Therefore, it's only fair that headphones are banned for everyone else too. As you mentioned, if youre concerned about interrupting, thats a discussion to have. Right a civil conversation gets more respect than any manager title. And if youre putting people in an open office format full headphones are a must. Also, if anything, arent headphones better because its obvious to everyone you have them on, and the know they need to get your attention first, whereas earbuds could go unnoticed since theyre less visible, and then the speaker could wind up confused/offended that the other person isnt responding? Doesnt necessarily warrant a chat with the IT guy (he does his chatting while at his customers desks fixing their issues! I feel like if we all worked on our internal communication, wed have a lot less of these kind of things pop up. how do I avoid mom energy with my younger employees? Open offices are the most evil pits of hell. Only if you managed to retain the employee. /\/\all this up here/\/\ And yes, I am at Work and were all Adults At Work, and something Adults At Work get to decide is if their earbuds/headphones are crippling enough to not use them At Work. Cheerleader: Gimme a W! That can be very dangerous in some work situations. Shortly after my promotion last year, I started wearing headphones specifically so people (read: new boss) would actually see that Im listening to something. Im just pointing out that the employees behavior was highly unlikely to be linked to an accommodation considering the conversation leading up to the employee going to HR, and this doesnt at all read to me like a legit reason to go to HR. 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. 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. They would still have to take the earbuds out just like taking headphones off. So not a medical issue. I wont say that this is absolutely factually the case, but at least I usually consider a perk to be something more like my company gave me a pair of expensive noise-cancelling headphones rather than Im allowed to do a normal thing that theres no business reason for not allowing me to do that latter (and also, that if there is a business reason that its not appropriate to grant exceptions as a reward) I do consider to be a given. If you have to type all day every day on a 14 inch laptop, youll have medical issues soon enough. This seems like a normal/fast timeline. If you fail to do that when you boss clarifies that the no headphone rule is meant to be immediate, then that failure is on you, rather than discrimination by your boss. Im wondering would said manager have an issue with bone conduction headphones too? Ensure you arent listening to anything so loudly that you arent able to hear emergency alarms. People wear headphones or headsets for online meetings because they HEAR better. I work with a lot of gentlemen who were in different branches of the service. Is the personal attack (spoiled entitlement) really necessary to the point here? endobj I alluded to this upthread, but I really think LW1 is focused on the wrong thing here. That is why AAM states frequently about choosing your battles as an employee when expending capital. I dont wear headphones all the time, but when i do its usually because im absolutely saturated with being interrupted for stupid stuff and really need to calm down and focus. Abusers are manipulative and they are good at controlling their partners, thats what lead to this situation in the first place. It is entirely possible to be productive in an office with noise around you . I had understood it to be a perfectly acceptable standard in IT work for the reasons you mentioned. Im sure this LW would find me a very frustrating employee. Yep, exactly. Twenty minutes later Subscribe to get notified about product launches, special offers and news. Its work. I think that DCer might have wanted this comment to sound reassuring, but I guess I find this idea of a universal code where if you dont provide details then it must be about your reproductive organs to be a bit unsettling and the opposite of reassuring? how can you get around automated screening questions when youre actually qualified for the job? There will still be a momentary pause while they take the buds out. Its funny you say ticketed support system, because I was thinking that when Ive used ticketing systems, we were constantly redirecting users to input their issues directly into the ticketing system so we could prioritize and organize the requests. My coworkers know that if they need my attention, they should do one or some combination of the following: Wave in my line of vision (but NOT close to my face). When the printer is making odd sounds or theyre installing something weird in the hall, you cant block it out. Thats why IT departments usually have tickets. Why couldnt it wait until the end of the day to have a meeting to say Okay so starting tomorrow, were going to only use earbuds.. I can concentrate without them, sure, but its not near as easy. It's been found to improve employee morale, enhance retention, and even promote a positive company culture. Now I need to ask HR what I need to do to get accommodation. I%m83M~UrIosU9$N3M~*4)&q Noise-cancelling headphones are a reasonable accommodation for many issues; such as anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, others. ?, It would actually be much less distracting if Jennifer was wearing headphones. Maintain a reasonable headphone volume and never let your music interfere with those around you. And there's other noises like typing, clicking, splashing. Im confused about that too. Or even things that are less life-and-death, like a receptionist or the host at a restaurant. I think if the company knew they couldnt get back to them in a couple of days, which is the expected timeline for most people I think, then they could have let them know that there was a delay. Oh, and one of our newer hires has decided the lab is a good place to chew gum as loudly as possible. Smaller companies likely wont have someone dedicated only to end-user internal support, but larger companies very much will. Never wear them while walking around the office, and dont let volume hinder your ability to hear emergency signals. Opt for music without lyrics or very familiar music when you need to concentrate. I lasted 2 weeks. And doesnt trust this manager to keep it quiet. I also think this rule is overly rigid, especially since the manager is ok with earbuds as opposed to headphones. *raises hand* Another hearing aid user here, and I agree that forcing me to use earbuds rather than headphones would be a major issue. Again, I understand they are a tool, but they are a tool that not everyone has access to and yet those people are still held to the same production standards. I actually have a bunch of ADHD students who would disagree. Does he have small ear canals or a hearing aid? Earbuds hurt my ears. I could understand a no listening devices policy, but not a only a certain type of listening devices policy. And that was pure luck. However, the fact that the employee immediately went to HR and other details in the letter make me think there is more to this story than is told here. Team: H! But, itd be difficult to wear headphones or earbuds if theyre expected to also answer incoming phone calls at all. A better analogy would be telling my team they couldnt use a stapler and had to use binder clips/paper clips for their paper needs. Maybe they have noticed you on your phone or non-work related websites a lot. They help people get into a groove, and they send a clear sign to others that you're busy. Then you suck it up for a few hours. I dont have earbuds to switch, is it ok if I make the change tomorrow? Or Oh sorry, I didnt realize you meant for this change right away. and remove the headphones. Different people have different work, different work requirements, and different work styles. As far as I can tell, my job has a ticketing system but for a lot of issues ( such as password resets) , Im supposed to call the helpdesk, they solve the problem and almost simultaneously create and close the ticket. So much of my bandwidth is going to trying to block noise or being constantly unnerved by it that I make mistakes and my productivity suffers. is it unprofessional to get a tattoo on a work trip? If they banned headphones at my boyfriends IT office, people would definitely push back hard. Or employee vs. servant (this distinction = not my favorite B.T.W.) Weve become a very plugged-in society. Seconded theres probably more going on here than we are being made aware of. Im not sure I see a significant difference. Ill act like a normal person and walk over to her., (Personal opinion anyone should wear what they want. Its absolutely the most counterproductive thing, and is non-negotiable in any way to our supervisor who will get visibly upset if you bring it up. I would definitely be visualizing funding vanishing, or the CEO who needs to do a sign off changing her mind. I find the headphones are useful b/c sometimes people will be coming over, see theyre on, walk away and Ill get an e-mail from that same person a couple of minutes later (this happens @ least once a day). Driving and other activities. Given the awkwardness and wait time, Im picturing the employees in their own office, facing the wall opposite the door. I also use AirPods so I can hear people if my volume is low enough, which it usually is. If that would still bother OP1, then they need to re-evaluate what they really want here. They need to be able to work on issues by balancing most pressing/first come first serve/most complicated. U/G. Does he plan to buy earbuds and need a day? But theres other people who work better without noise. They first of all rolled it out 7 days ahead of the date it would take effect, and in addition they provided for a transition period where if its logistically difficult to switch right away (some departments will need to renegotiate terms and open new accounts for various things), were permitted to go on paying for things that old way over the next month or two to avoid any business disruptions. Around-the-ear headphones may be sound-cancelling / sound-reducing compared to the average earbud. I recently took a different position and their existing policy is that 0 employees are allowed to listen to music on headphones. in fact i would say earbuds are a worse problem because it can be harder to see them so people will start talking to you and then you have to take them out and have the person repeat themselves (this used to happen to me a lot). Ear buds versus headphones really? And the other is that you dont have enough staff to get all of your work done. It wasnt two weeks between interview and job offer, it was two weeks between informal job offer and offer letter. Well I relate to you. I would want to stop this running to HR over silly stuff real quick. My question iswhat is the difference, to you, between headphones and earbuds. I torn ligaments bowling. It's awkward when someone approaches them for. How can the employees raise logistical matters, like accommodations or simple workflow tools, in those circumstances? It in fact makes me want to double down on my stance that the original comment wasnt rude. Working with a PT, nope.) If theyre doing other work that also requires focus, this is just a doubly bizarre request. Managers shouldnt be making arbitrary rules that get in the way of doing a job without a business justification. My ear is always on the verge of being itchy and flaky/crusty and I have gotten infections before from my itching it too much. Over the ear headphones also enable me to hear more of what is going on around me, thus making me MORE responsive. Headphones have been a natural part of the office in every job Ive held. Yeah, I think for this LW its the look of it, but I think its a distinction without a difference. There are other reasons, not all of which fall under ADA, why an employee would strongly prefer over-the-ear headphones over earbuds, such as poor fit, concerns about hearing loss over time, the fact that the headphones ARE visible having their own benefits, etc. Good lord, this makes me think of the dumb reason that it looks professional to have employees in certain jobs STAND for hours on end, and not sit down. 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? If the answer is no, then running to HR is an extreme response. i once had a VP running around popping bubble paper in everyones face. You cannot use the well my job says no headphones and Im fine, so whats your deal, man? Thats not how the world works. If Im being treated differently because of the shape of my ear canal, Im not really gonna see the person doing so as reasonable. TL/dr: Youre not going to change DV victims behavior; telling on her will not accomplish OPs desired result. And then running to HR? Its not about adult vs. not adult. So, i could be working -listening to a call in issue which you may not know. I do get the last word, and sometimes Ill override a decision a team member has made based on information I had which they didnt have when they made the call, of course. I saw the point up until, earbuds are ok. Dont discourage others from making sure theyre not being bullied or unfairly treated by a boss. ~SM7E~Uy I believe I understand my mechanics point about air wrenches being a productivity tool, but as a software engineer I am not allowed to use an air wrench and yet still manage to successfully test smartphone apps so sorry, it seems to me like if youre allowed to use a productivity tool that other people arent then it is indeed a perk. 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. Nobody should be trying to get IT supports attention in person so frequently. But they are also more difficult for the visitor to notice when s/he walks up and starts talking. This headphone rule seems entirely capricious and based on nothing more than the managers personal preference. Different positions do demand different levels and I was presenting the side that has to do their job without them since very few in this comment section seem to have such jobs. I wear noise cancelling headphones sometimes to block out my colleagues chatting, or their legitimate work calls (were a telephone based casework agency so there are a lot of calls every day). In addition to using headphones to sometimes just help me concentrate on other work, sometimes I use them do to actual work related things like participate in skype calls and watch work-related videos (mandatory training, etc.). I suppose they may really be concerned they have an ethical obligation to say something to their employer, but why? We do not, under ANY circumstances, accept walk up patients. Earbuds are incredibly uncomfortable for me because I have an ear canal deformity which makes it almost impossible to find comfortable earbuds. Open-mouth lip-smacking gum-chewing in the lab where we work with E. coli bacteria and toxic-ass chemicals. Just like how we dont suddenly just spring laws into immediate action either, so why try to do it in an office? I think that the breezy, not too serious just something I need to get taken care of is vague enough and shouldnt prompt further questions, and also shouldnt prompt the manager to think ah, female issues immediately, which is something it seems the Letter Writer is trying to avoid. Only 7 percent of employers responding to a 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management said they had a policy addressing the use of iPods and similar devices at work. Honestly, is this a hill youre willing to die on in order to enforce? of the two it is. Yes, but how to finish the work day, when one has headphones, and was using them. It takes but a moment to remove them and were not wasting any time with repeats. Productivity Small Business Regardless, the main point of putting anything in or over my ears is to block out the noise of my coworkers (foot tapping, pen tapping, pen clicking, paper shuffling, conversations between coworkers, phone conversationssomeone is beatboxing right now, Im not even joking) so I can actually concentrate on my work. But the defiance! What you seemed to be saying is that you find it hard to believe that anyone would need to wear headphones because you yourself work as an admin, and noise isnt a new phenomenon. But leave her personal life alone. I keep seeing people mentioning the one earbud solution. Its hard for me to ask a higher up or a WAY higher up to be quiet. Curious why the employee didnt push back? Rolleyes. Its the WORST. I hope you can find something that helps you. I havent like, timed it or anything, but I really doubt Im faster at removing earbuds since most of the time involved is actually pause music. Re: the headphones. And thats really the thing: what is the impact, or is there in fact one? The change will have exactly zero effect on performance, since employees would still be wearing (smaller, less visible) headphones, and still have to stop to take them off. Let her deal with it in whatever way she is dealing with it. As the name implies, an open ears policy requires employees to keep their ears open while they work, whether its in all situations at work or just in specific high-risk areas. earbuds can be even more irritating, because theyre not as obvious to other people who will often just start talking without realizing that the earbud-wearer cant hear them (I wear giant headphones on the subway SPECIFICALLY as a signal that I am not available to speak. The new policy is important, but not so important that work should be inconvenienced for the sake of it. In this post, well provide clear workplace guidelines about when and how to best utilize headphones for the office environment. Clearly, your need to focus and work productively and comfortably the entire day is not as important as my 2-second wait! That is a poor idea. Or who knows. Why expend professional capital on something minor? I find it amusing that its viewed as a power play by the employee but not a power play by a manager who randomly decided to remove headphones from their department, without even a days notice. In my case, because I have also always had back issues, I said I was doing PT for my back. Arent you a doctor? ), this definitely seems less like Oh, I dont have earbuds, Ill just use my headphones today then bring earbuds tomorrow and more f*** you, I like my headphones, Im going to keep using them anyway.. Wearing headphones at work is an often-tempting option for workers, and can indeed be useful to assist concentration. While he was walking and enjoying his tunes, a train that was moving in the same direction arrived. Also add me to the list of people who find earbuds painful. If possible, choose headphones over earbuds so your coworkers can clearly see that youre wearing headphones. And while productive without, more productive with. I would honestly have just done as the boss asked in the moment; but Id be looking for a new job with a leader who wasnt subject to random whims. To me, its like listening to the TV and the radio at the same time and makes it more difficult to concentrate. [hyw_hE1s`WLl'SQqNT/O0Q|ygv9f7oVm3z3_ok1.f^U{ZJXi5.YFlwn/m;svfwIFyyBccP^&SjVV.ki{'{\*k'SiXlDxsgDS5+=khvmM"4;gOfoo_}}-uwy =Bn! Referring to them as a perk would be like calling wearing a belt or a ring a perk. My dad wore the behind the ear type of hearing aids. I also came here to say this. I think I would be pretty solidly unhappy if I didnt have my headphones to make people pause and think about how important their question really is!! And my option would then be earbuds or nothing which would be sensory hell for me and probably cause me to burn out and lose my job after a few months. Who knows, she might have felt that in her car away from where the kids could hear would be the best solution. All I know is, anytime Ive seen someone put on that aggressive of a reporting schedule its because they arent meeting goals and accomplishing projects. In regards to the co-worker experiencing domestic violence it feels like the OP needs to do some self analysis on what theyre trying to accomplish. So for me it doesnt make a difference. He would need that evening to either buy earbuds or retrieve them from his home. The rule was about earphones. Did she just expect all of her workers to be walking around with a variety of different kinds of headphones/earbuds just in case someone complained about their normal headphones? Earbuds dont work for me either. But I love mine and they have helped me a lot. But specifically regarding the employee disregarding the rule by continuing to wear the headphones: I have to have noise in my ears to concentrate. She is the boss. Another generational things. This was my impression from the letter I think allowing earbuds may have been an attempt to meet in the middle, even if it wasnt entirely logical, because the main objection in that situation is the appearance of being unavailable when your job is to be available to help people. I am EMPHATICALLY opposed to open office spaces. While tuning in can be great in a lot of ways, it can also be dangerous. As managers were able to make tweaks to rules and limit them if necessary for our departments but you still have to be respectful of the fact that if every other department can use a device like headphones, making it a nope in your department will come with this kind of reaction. Does he have a migraine and removal of the offending headphones would send him over the edge of tolerance to pain? (To be fair, headphones will happily take out hair.). Most people will either say no its no problem to get my attention, thats what Im here for then you take it and go about your business.
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