CELLPHONE USE IN THE WORKPLACE

Personal Cellphone use in the workplace

Personal Cellphone Use in the Workplace

Introduction

In the last ten years, the evolution of technology has given an unexpected jump. The technological boom generation results in terms of personal cell phone and Internet, which, rather than being separate realities are complementary. Both also emerged as a result of an intensive search to improve communication interpersonal, initiated early in the 70's, and intended solely for the benefit of big government sectors and companies private.

Casual observation reveals that cell phones have taken over the way we communicate in the workplace. This should come as no surprise considering the cell phone's advances in technology. Despite their popularity, one must consider whether cell phones are merely a workplace convenience or source of irritation. For instance, an employee attending a business meeting can retrieve data for a budget meeting without leaving the room; however, that same employee can disrupt the budget meeting each time his or her cell phone rings. Arguably, there are pros and cons to cell phone use in the workplace, but it is also important to understand the potential liability that personal cell phones bring to the workplace (Agar, 2004).

Literature Review

Based on the capabilities of today's cell phone, it was important to establish a method to categorize the information discovered during the literature review. The literature review was separated into three categories: (a) disruptive behavior - behavior that invades the rights of others or otherwise disrupts the workplace, (b) legal-consequence behavior - behavior that increases organizational liability, and (c) best practices and sample policies.

Results

It disclosed four disruptive behaviors that impact the workplace; annoying ring tones, talking too loudly, interrupting meetings, and inappropriate conversations in public.

The overwhelming majority of supervisors (88.6%) replied that cell phones were the source of disruption during training and meetings.

One ...