And doesnt trust this manager to keep it quiet. Of course, the people who wear them nowadays are usually in noisy environments and just trying to get some work done, and arent aware of these old associations, and often respond with a combination of bafflement and resentment that anyone would object to OTE phones. While you may decide to simply ban earbud and headphone use at work entirely, thats not always the best option. We do not, under ANY circumstances, accept walk up patients. Different people have different work, different work requirements, and different work styles. In fact, a recent survey suggests that 71% of staff are more productive when they use their headphones at work. You couldnt normally tell that Im autistic, for instance, and I have the legal right to the accommodation of headphones without it being obvious that they are medically required. If they say Actually, sometimes its a bad time, if its not urgent, can you do it this other way instead? I think the LW had waited 2 weeks for a formal job offer, after having been informally offered the job. 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. And as IT people, they really wont lack for other workplaces that do allow headphones. Something besides earbuds was going on between this employee and boss. /\/\all this up here/\/\ I dont know that its universal code. That makes sense and is a good compromise. But OP said they were fine with earbuds. I am on the spectrum, and I dont know whether my distractability from people talking around me is due to that or just bc, but I have been considering purchasing a pair. My male bosses very quickly understood that I need to have treatment for a medical condition, its not life-threatening, but something I need to take care of to mean Its about my uterus, dont ask. Its a universal code. Its asking for clarification and mediation. Regarding the second letter, that was NOT where I was expecting that one to go! Until there is a formally accepted job offer, the employer should be aware that at any point they could lose their leading candidate to another offer. One of my co-workers wears headphones and Im often repeating myself when speaking to them, because either I dont know they have them on, or I start talking before the headphones come off. If I had to switch to earbuds, then the switch would have to wait until the company supplied me with the equipment they wanted me to use (and equipment that didnt actively pain me to use). Why expend professional capital on something minor? Earbuds are SO uncomfortable and the manager is coming off as a micromanaging jerk. If I have to take my hearing aids out to use earbuds, not only do I have to worry about losing the (VERY expensive) little devils, but when someone wants to talk to me, I would have to not only remove the earbuds but put at least one of my hearing aids in before I can converse. It seems to me that OP simply doesnt like the look of headphones, because the feeling awkward, waiting for him to remove them doesnt make sense. 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!! You can make the manager even more uncomfortable by saying its about my menstrual cramps and heavy bleeding. On top of open office too no less. I dont think the manager really has room to get mad about insubordination unless he was still wearing the headphones the NEXT day. Just yikes. OP1 could there be a legitimate need for over ear headphones? Adults can reasonably differ, even over minor issues. Instead, adults individually determining that (whatever interval; daily, projects time, etc) headphone usage allows for increased concentration and productivity-the cubical equivalent to shutting the office door-allows every one to benefit. Im extremely responsive there, because I can see people approaching, and I tend to ull my earbuds out as people approach. Not IT staff. 1) as a customer of IT support, I would be really peeved if Id opened a ticket for something critical, they started working on it, and were then forced to stop working on my ticket because someone else had walked up to their desk and they have to be interruptible at all times. But theres other people who work better without noise. I think this falls in the category of you may find it unnerving, but the employee is not actually doing anything wrong. Waiting a few seconds for someone to take off their headphones is not a big deal. Knock on the end of my desk. Ahhh, I actually meant worse for your ears [in the long run] when I typed that. If you have to type all day every day on a 14 inch laptop, youll have medical issues soon enough. I listen to music in my office. Your comment doesnt seem to be in response to anything I actually said. This employee was quite upset when I reminded him that we had just discussed it. Im one of the people that cannot wear the over-the-ear headpones for very long because they get uncomfortable; they press on the stems of my glasses, and I get headaches more easily. Its a tool. My advice would be to have a meeting with the manager and one of HR or her one-over-one, and include the magic words, Im the only person in my department being required to do this. Differential treatment is discrimination. They are a tool for productivity. Boeing employees have a new rule to follow while working: No more headphones. Instead of wearing them on top of your head, you wear them around the back of your neck, and the headphones clip over your ears from behind, so it puts less pressure on the top of your ears which are supporting the glasses. Let people find what works for them. And even if it is a stupid, arbitrary rule which I agree it is HR is still not the one to go to for this. Youre not in programming, youre not sat in front of a screen reading or generating code all day. I would assume that most people who wear headphones/earbuds use them for that purpose. This just means people might be stuck standing there awkwardly for a minute or so regardless. The fact that the employees felt the need to go to HR seems to suggest that something deeper is going on here. And unless the rule encouraged bullying, harrassment, discrimination (which it might have, but we have no information to support that) hightailing it to HR seems VERY extreme for this situation UNLESS, theres a history of difficulty between these two. Your comment is rude as are MANY of your comments. I have a physical therapy appointment X day in the morning for the next 8 weeks.. 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? You should clarify in your policy that failure to adhere to your company rules could be a disciplinary offence, such as misconduct. The headphone thing seems a bit much and not something I would push if you want to keep otherwise good employees around. q(NF7^Mi>JR$C/}vfUOO)9Q o}N/iovF=.o$V
)#o}}j5]"WbcK"hW7QX`>^vsZg^cc7[Jzj.b;$ss)$]4V/ZIXJ}my$l/bx(N}\C'n:,n1{g4|jonv/Ndt*^oU\\o`8Jy!m_)1?,oY>\nX8l7F|Q+ bJ|QVs,Er7;MbNMZ8
^rjv,N>mqKjE5+:DBt1*e8u{sNzf6c[k9.\&]A! Or just wait five seconds for them to take their headphones off. No five second wait while they pull out their earbuds or take off their headset. Customer support roles could involve sourcing documentation from phone, fax, chat and email and channels. 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. Yes, it is exactly the same for me. We also received the M1s recently for review which is another one of Shanling's latest 'pocket rockets'. And in any case, banning one or the other seems like overkill unless youre in a front-facing position that requires you to be immediately responsive to people. But you might not be convinced Earphones and your workplace culture. 8:00 am - 7:00 pm, ET Monday to Friday, Over 2,050,000+ No, it is not possible. Particularly, if there wasnt a conversation about it. If you really, REALLY want this though I think youll have to address the whys to the employees and do it in a way that doesnt leave them feeling targeted, and be ready for the discontent as some might understand your reasons and others will be ready to label anything and everything as stupid in their book. The most anyone has *ever* said was Oh, are you on the phone? because AirPod use is endemic at my company, or on the rare occasion I dont realize someone is watching ask amusedly if its a really really good song. Others seek out employment and ask for accommodations that they require to work well and produce their work product. Did you give them earbuds to wear immediately? This is just such a weird, petty, and frankly stupid hill to die on. Oh, and for many years I was undiagnosed so I didnt have this as a special accommodation. 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. They would still have to take the earbuds out just like taking headphones off. I have two I.T. If this is the hill you want to die on, you have to ban headphones across the board. Im not sure IT support is always much less should be that kind of job; not all IT support units are or should be front-line helpdesks. Nope! They arent there to instantly respond to your every whim at the specific moment of your choosing, theyre there to work. [ticket or email or ping me on IM etc]. And adjust. It makes it hard to focus and easier for folks to interrupt you with non-sequitors or generally disrespect your time/lunch breaks. The reasons for introducing the ban are: * Wearing headphones make employees seem unapproachable. Furthermore, making a beeline to HR is overkill when the problem was at least partly due to your failure to communicate relevant information. This. They help people get into a groove, and they send a clear sign to others that you're busy. Also, to hopefully forestall going down the thats different, thats a disability route again a) I didnt have a formal diagnosis until two years ago and still dont have formal accommodations at work because b) Ive thankfully had fairly limited exposure to work environments where this is the best way for me to do the sort of work that I do requires a doctors note to protect it from arbitrary managerial whim. 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. If you choose to purchase earbuds, try to make sure they are noticeable, or consider adding a sign to your office door, computer, or workspace to let people know you are wearing headphones. Smaller companies likely wont have someone dedicated only to end-user internal support, but larger companies very much will. Would it be difficult for the employee to tell the boss about such a scenario? Nobody should be trying to get IT supports attention in person so frequently. Apparently there was a lot of misunderstanding in how the PM perceived my work performance. >Ws'Gy8cT{p>:0K=*R=,RXbL\L76,~8X8IdWcqvqO%owFZ6POT>6 alw|KsC7W[oUJ x)#/IAS>n9$0s1!sHC"r!q9 8DD!"b!! They could have handled it better, but maybe they wanted to discuss with HR as to how to discuss with their manager in a tactful manner, especially if their tenure started prior to the manager beginning. They help others see that youre busy and prevent communication confusion. Ive never been quite sure whether thats more of a thats how my managers treat me, so I give advice to other people based on the assumption that its how the working world works everywhere thing or a thats how I treat my direct reports, because I think thats the right way to be thing.
Low Risk Sic Codes For Businesses,
Articles N