People who wear earphones all of the time - AIBU?

[Pariswhenitdrizzles]

I find it really rude and annoying!! I see some people who wear their earphones ALL of the time - at work etc. - and, because they have them in the whole time, even when you're speaking with them, you can't even tell whether they're listening. I just find it really rude and impolite.

I would wear mine if I had to concentrate on writing a report. Certain music I can have playing and it doesn't interrupt my thoughts, unlike a nattering open plan office.

cherry - So if you're not in an open plan office how would people hear you anyway regardless of headphones or not!

So you go into their offices and shout at them, then?

See, I don't wear earphones for the exact same people do!

I want to be able to hear people around me especially on the street I guess in case of something kicking off or needing to get out of the way of something.

I wear mine because they are noise cancelling, and help me to hear you by cutting out the competing background noise. What I find rude is people who tell me off for wearing them, instead of simply repeating what they said like normal people. Unfortunately I also lipread, and if I didn't know you were going to speak to me, or you weren't facing me at the time, sometimes I miss the start of what you said. Removing the headphones does absolutely sod all for my lipreading, but apparently I'd be able to hear everything everyone says if I take the headphones off. Or so I'm regularly told by strangers.

So, I'm sorry, but I think we're just going to have to be rude to each other. That's life.

lemons what I mean is there is only my team in my office, which is 5 people. If they can’t work with noise the they’re in the wrong job, like I say we are in constant communication with each other. If anyone needs quiet time to write reports etc then they/I go in the empty office next door.

But I’m sure others know my role and team better than me

I used to work in an open plan office with about 50 people from 4/5 departments and it was a fucking cacophony. Added to that we were a 'young' and 'right-on' company so there were three radios tuned to three different stations and lots of general merriment. If I didn't have my headphones in I wouldn't have been able to get anything done.

I don't work there now - I share an office with my assistant and it's bliss.

What are you going on about dancing? I’ve already said it’s not appropriate fo the staff to wear headphones due to the nature of our work, do you think their right to listen to music is more important than doing a good job?

YABU. I have ASD and always wear mine if I'm in public or in a noisy environment. Before I started doing this, there were lots of ordinary things I just couldn't do, like use public transport, because it was so overwhelming from a sensory perspective. I don't work in an office, but if I did, I'd definitely need them to be able to concentrate on my work.

I take them out if someone wants to talk to me. Not doing that would be rude. Just having them, though? I don't see the problem, especially considering the alternatives for me.

cherry - just out of interest does the actual head of department have this rule? because it sounds like you have imposed this rule whilst you are 'acting' head of department!

lemons she does yes. She imposed it before I even started, but when she was off the staff were very ‘yay, Boss is away we can listen to music’. At first I let it slide but eventually I saw exactly why she implemented that rule!

The correct name for these people is Earphone Twats... (any Jedburgh runners care to back me up? )

I'll be honest I'm not a big fan of headphones unless they're on some kid watching peppa pig of course! It makes the world a more disconnected place if everyone's listening to their own sound track. I know aibu but that's just how I feel!

Surely if its at work it depends on the nature of the job. So in cherry's office it might be must useful to be able to constantly talking to each other or aware of what others were saying, whereas if you've got detailed technical reports to concentrate on then you need to have focus. I used to turn my email off and divert my phone too sometimes, for an hour or so, which my boss was fine with and also did.

They make me think of Will the thick intern in W1A. Lovely Will.

Lethal do you mean at work or everywhere?

I sometimes use mine because we have a manager who bellows instead of using the office instant messenger/her legs to go over to their desk.

If everyone did that it would be impossible to hear yourself think. And it's bloody irritating.

I put them on when I don't want to be interrupted. I never play music.

It was circulated in our office recently that frequent interruptions disrupt concentration so much it can waste up to 45 minutes a day (not the time dealing with the interruption, the time actually getting back on task).

I don't see a problem with it I use mine a lot at work as I work in an open plan office and find the back ground noise very distracting especially if I'm completing the financial element to my job role. We also do alot of face to face work and it can be nice just to tune out in the office after an intense morning of face to face work. We're a team of 2 and quite often we'll have head phones on sitting next to each other and not exchange many words

I also use public transport to get to work and enjoy that no one feels the need to talk to me.

Unless ofcourse it's reasonable adjustment as recommended by ot because of the many disabilities stated on this thread cherry in which case their legal rights to reasonable adjustments to access work absolutely trumps your right to sit on your butt rather than walk a short distance to speak to someone.

I’ve had earphones stuck in my ears since I was 10 and I’m now 46. Being able to cancel out the outside world gets me through each day.

cherry in which case their legal rights to reasonable adjustments to access work absolutely trumps your right to sit on your butt rather than walk a short distance to speak to someone

ODFOD, hardly ‘sitting on my butt’ when I’m trying to get them to engage in work that they are paid to do. I am absolutely not walking over each time to plead with them to work efficiently.

Like I say we have ‘reasonable adjustments’ if they need quiet or alone time, there is an office next door for our exclusive use if they need to work in it (which is occasionally the case).

I am dying to know what cherry's job is that requires constant chat between everyone!

That makes no difference to voice hearers or those suffering paranoia. Disabiluty rights come before yours and it's ots/hrs job to find the right reasonable adjustment by working with a person with the disability not dictating to them.

lemons I am dying to know why you’re being such a nobber but some things just have to be left to the imagination I guess

Fuck well when someone is appointed in the role with a relevant disability then I’ll worry about it. There isn’t anyone in the team who needs headphones. HTH.