Do you ever get super annoyed with a friend who just won’t put down their phone at dinner? Or when you’re trying to talk to them about something?
Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, your colleagues are getting angry with you for the same thing.
It may seem like it’s completely acceptable to be checking your mobile devices during a meeting (especially if your job relies heavily on social media), but more and more employers are expressing their distaste for it.
And in turn, more and more employees are committing to ditching their phones and tablets during meetings, deciding instead to focus entirely on the task at hand.
Erica Lockheimer, senior director of engineering growth at LinkedIn, tells Fast Company:
“I am no longer going to be distracted by my laptop or phone in meetings. I am going to be present and fully engaged, and will enjoy every moment working with talented teams to solve problems and come up with new strategies. The rest can wait—the moment is more important!”
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In a study done by the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, researchers surveyed 554 full-time employees who earned more than $30,000 annually and were employed by companies with at least 50 employees. When asked about the use of smartphones in meetings, they received the following responses:
- 86 percent think it’s inappropriate to answer phone calls during formal meetings
- 84 percent think it’s inappropriate to write texts or emails during formal meetings
- 75 percent think it’s inappropriate to read texts or emails during formal meetings
- 66 percent think it’s inappropriate to write texts or emails during any meetings
- At least 22 percent think it’s inappropriate to use phones during any meetings
Of course, there are times when it might be helpful to take notes on your phone or tablet in a meeting, which could easily be misconstrued as being distracted by texts or emails.
In this case, it’s helpful to turn off all notifications so that you are able to focus on your notes and resist outside distractions.
Or, you know, just go old school with a paper and pen. It won’t kill you.
