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.

cherry - what an odd response. Several people have expressed surprise at the fact you refuse to let people wear headphones and your constant need to shout at or speak to your team. I was simply wondering what job would require this level of constant interaction? Not sue why that means you need to resort to insults. Each to their own I guess.

I wear mine a lot out and about because I am a magnet for bus nuts, chuggers etc. Don't always have music on though or if I do it's quiet enough so I am aware if people are talking to me.

Well perhaps I don’t need to justify my decision at work (and risk outing myself by revealing my job) to randoms on the Internet?

Is my saying “I can assure you we need to be in constant communication” not enough, why do you need to know in order to decide if my decision is reasonable?

It’s not appropriate for staff in my office to wear headphones. How is this hard to understand?!

I frequently see people wearing them when pushing Prams/buggies with awake babies/toddlers. Talk to the child!!! Don’t ignore them ffs!

TBF grilled I wear headphones when getting my DS to sleep in his pram, if I spoke to him I’d be keeping him awake

CherryChasingDotMuncher

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.

I don’t have a disabilty as such. I do have an auditory processing disorder so i can’t hear you unless i am looking at you. I cannot hear someone shouting at me in a busy room, it is all noise to me.

If I am wearing headphones people tend to tap me on the shoulder or otherwise draw my attention to the fact it is me they are speaking to. Then I can focus on them to hear, in combination with lip reading.

So while i don’t need headphones, they are a useful tool to help me communicate.

Like I say really if we ever employ someone with a specific need then I’ll address it then.

I think PP think that because some people do need headphones that all staff should get to wear them. I afraid in my job people getting the right information to them about important matters trumps the ‘rights’ of workers (who don’t in any way shape or form need to listen to music at work) listening to the latest Ed Sheeran

So basically Cherry doesn't need or prefer earphones so no-one else does. No consideration that they might struggle but don't want to disclose, just a blanket policy because Cherry's the boss. Do you really need to be issuing vital information every minute of the day, to such an extent that you need to communicate with them constantly? If so then perhaps your attention might be better served sorting that out. There are few jobs (and I'd be surprised if they were office-based) that require constant communication....

People that wear headphones at work all the time drive me mad!

I wear headphones while walking down the street, on the tube, etc. I'm not always using them, but just wear them - it helps avoid street harassment.
I don't wear them when with my children.
My autistic children wear them to cut out surrounding sounds, due to sensory issues.

I use earphones because I have tinnitus and having some quiet music on in the background distracts me from the highly irritating noise in my ear. Helps me concentrate more because I'm not getting distracted by a constant high pitched noise

My 15 year old wears headphones at school, to help with sensory processing etc. He also likes to listen to his iPod at break time, lunch time, and while walking between lessons etc.

I use headphones nearly all the time when I’m out, or when I’m at work. Not once have I missed an emergency or someone trying to get my attention.

Oh FFS. Apparently MN knows how to run my team better than me, I’m doing it wrong I wonder how many of you cope on the workplace not having everything your way, and have to adhere to other people’s preferences/policies.

fuck it - I work in crisis communications. So most days there is a crisis of varying degrees and yes the team do need to be in constant communication with each other (the clue is in the title).

So as an example if we were managing the aftermath of serious flooding in the area, we need to know, at all times

• the number of houses and residents affected
• who has ben evacuated and who hasn’t yet
• road closures and diversions
• any casualties
• buildings affected such as care homes and hospitals
• refuges open
• risk of further flooding

Details on the above can change at any minute and usually changes a number of times a day.

Each person in the team is assigned a stakeholder group to communicate with - so two people may lead on speaking to the media, someone else on social media and someone else on staff, local councillors etc.

If I’m taking a call about a community centre opening as a refuge for victims from X Y and Z areas, it’s far more efficient for me to tell everyone in the team at once, as they need to communicate to all their stakeholders ASAP. Because in about a minute we’ll be getting new information in. Everyone needs to be paying attention at all times, i technically could pop over to everyone with headphones and repeat myself 4 times over but I can assure you that would result in a very inefficient and snowed-under team.

There’s also a lot of random piping up with “such and such bloke has said X on social media and we need to do something about it”. Yes, it gets very noisy in the office, which is why we’ve always resisted plans to get us to work in the open plan area with 40 other people.

The above is a very crude example of what I do, and not every day is manic, and sometimes we do have to do less ‘on the button’ things like reports and debriefs. But every day needs our full attention from everyone, news can come in at any time. If people can’t handle the very fast pace they’re not in the right job, and it has pissed me off in the past that staff have missed vital things I’ve asked them to communicate because they’re hidden behind their computer listening to music.

Nike - call centres? Not appropriate for headphones

Also people from other teams are constantly popping in to update us on a crisis. They usually have to be quick and brief. Looks very unprofessional IMO if, in the midst of a disaster, our staff have headphones in and that person has to repeat themselves.

Just wanted to add my two pence, like ambamber I have tinnitus and any office job I've worked in has been mindful of this. I'm hardly blaring music for everyone else to hear, it's just a quiet background noise to block out the high pitched ringing in my ear that is more distracting than any music would be. If people need to speak to me they know raising their voice a little or coming over and tapping me on the shoulder is more than enough to grab my attention.

Literally the best part of my job is the fact I need an audio headset for dictations

I put it on all the time even when I’m not typing. Everyone just leaves me alone

Also I most definitely didn’t say or imply this Nike

So basically Cherry doesn't need or prefer earphones so no-one else does

So not sure why you’ve said that? I said it makes for an inefficient team. Why are you making things up?

I also wear earphones often without anything playing. They're a signifier that I'm trying to focus, so send me an email unless you need an immediate response. Pretty standard practice in our office.

Also (sorry to go on) but this -

No consideration that they might struggle but don't want to disclose, just a blanket policy because Cherry's the boss

Should the rules be changed in case someone is secretly hiding an ailment they don’t want to disclose? How ridiculous! Should that go for all potential illnesses.

I also want to apologise to all who read my PP for the continued use of the word ‘stakeholder’. Bloody hate that stupid word

I wore mine at uni in labs as I am dyspraxic and my concentration levels are very low - I can switch off from my music but I find the low level hum of chattering, clattering clattering of keyboards, etc disturbing and concentrating at the best of times is actually really exhausting.

I do also wear them when walking in town so that I am not approached by the every couple of metre charity collectors, sky/bt people trying to sign you up etc. Though I would never approach a cashier etc in a shop with them in.

I'm not disconnecting from the world when I listen to music. If the choice is between someone blathering on about some fucking singing programme or hearing someone who can actually sing sing and perhaps even with instruments to boot, I know my preference.

It's not about rules changong cherry, it's about your attitude and how snooty and rude you are coming accross about it.

I'm sure your not meaning to but it would be alot easier to acknowledge you don't know enough about others disability/medical needs but that they are valid. Your attitude hear whether you mean it to or not makes it come accross dismissive of this, and dismissive of the legal protections in place. There is a great deal of disabilism in the uk currently, alot isn't intentional imo but it comes about from not being willing to understand that others needs are just as valid as yours.

It mostly wasn't an option for me to wear headphones in my career, restraining a teenage murderer while i had headphones it would have risked my life and that of my colleeges. But i did adapt and use them for writing incident reports or risk assessments and they did enable me to concentrate, and i could still hear my name being called easily. Lots of white noise apps block the background stuff not the important stuff. Just because others don't buy that doesn't make it less true.

And it's not about changing all the rules incase someone doesn't come forward. But it is about putting the responsibility for a person disclosing on the workplace not the person because in our current climate of disabilism people are terrified of facing discrimination and bullying if they do come forward- even the UN says the uk government encoyrages such an atmophere and still no body cares. It's about being aware how difficult it is for people to come forward and how if you start at the point of it's just rude and wont happen here then you're silencing people before they even try to voice their needs (which in reality is voicibg that we are different, and needs to not be underestimated). It's also being aware it's not that simple, i can identify that my sensory senstivities are part of my adhd and so legally a disability, others may have no diagnosis but still have the need there. Of things like phycosis often becomes more apparant in early 20s so a person may not even yet have a diagnosis when they are experiencing symptoms. The onus has to be on greater awareness and understanding rather than silemcing and that's on everyone.

Both husband and I have “deep thinking” jobs and both of us use headphones in the office. I sit between people who are paid anywhere between £400k & £2.5m a year for their roles - it’s completely acceptable in an open plan office for what we do. My boss just knocks on my desk if he wants me.

For some reason the accountants on our floor are really chatty individuals.