*New studies show that you are annoying your boss and colleagues when you take your phone out during meetings. Even more, if you work with women and people over 40 they’re even more irritated by it than everyone else. (The researchers surveyed over 500 full-time working professionals that earn $30K or above and are working in companies with at least 50 employees.)
Here’s what they found out!
**Using your smartphone in meetings is one of the most common complaints among coworkers!
- 86% thought it was it’s inappropriate to answer phone calls during meetings
- 84% thought it was inappropriate to write texts or emails during meetings
- 66% thought it was inappropriate to write texts or emails even during lunches offsite
- And lastly the more money people make the less they approve of smartphone use.
**The survey also found that Millennials are 3x more likely than those over 40 to think that smartphone use during meetings is okay!
Why do so many people, especially successful people, find smartphone use in meetings to be inappropriate? They say that when you take out your phone it shows a:
- Lack of respect. You consider the information on your phone to be more important than the conversation at hand and people right in front of you.
- Lack of attention. You are unable to stay focused on one thing at a time.
- Lack of listening. You aren’t practicing active listening, so no one around you feels heard.
- Lack of power. You get side tracked easily, giving your older peers the wrong impression.
- Lack of self-awareness: You don’t understand just how ridiculous your behavior looks to other people and that it could hurt your career.
- Lack of social awareness: You don’t understand how your behavior affects those around you that are trying to concentrate and pay attention.
Ever heard the saying misery loves company? Well so does misbehaving. If you do it, everyone else thinks they can too creating a domino effect that can create a huge problem for employers.
It is important to be VERY clear with what you expect of others that you work with. If you don’t want people to be on their phones in meetings then make it mandatory they leave them at their desks or there will be consequences for ANY interruptions.
*USC’s Marshall School of Business
**Why successful people never bring smartphones into meetings – Kevin Kruse – Sep 22, 2014