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 love my earphones. I wear them a lot, and can see it enrages people.
But as far as I can see:

• I'm not harming anyone
• it doesn't affect anyone else in any way, shape or form
• it makes me happy

I pop them out when I speak to people, e.g. cashiers at the till, if I see a friend/acquaintance, etc, so I'm not being rude about it. But if someone walking past me in the street/supermarket aisle/playground, etc, who doesn't wish to speak to me, has a problem with it or takes offence... I literally couldn't care less

YABU

I often wear headphones at work, not all the time but sometimes it's necessary. My work often involves getting my head around very complex documents and strategies. I used to have my own office but my company moved to open plan (which I still think was insane given the nature of the work we do!), and the amount of time that I witness being wasted every day on pointless chit-chat and loud conversations that go on forever which could've been dealt within in 2 minutes... it drives me insane.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-social at work, we're a pleasant bunch and I like a laugh, but these are not my friends, they are my colleagues and for the most part, I cannot stand listening to constant pointless chit chat while I'm trying to concentrate. My boss, bless her, is lovely but she is so loud and seems to enjoy the loud chit chat too. So if I need to concentrate I'll pop my headphones in and usually have some classical music on - really helps me focus and means I can remain productive without constant office distractions.

My open plan office is rather large so there is noise from other teams too... plus people walking through the office to and from meetings... it can get very loud. I'm sure open plan works for some companies but I still think it's ridiculous for the business I'm in and there is a lot of evidence to show that open-plan reduces productivity and increases stress. There is something to be said for the number of people on here who have said they work in open-plan and have to resort to headphones in order to focus properly.

I don’t even listen to music in mine - white noise in a noise cancelling set.

I just want quiet. I hadto concentrate sometimes and it was hard to do that with Jackie from Data Management yapping on about some fucking awful tv programme about vampires.

Open plan offices are generally don’t because it’s cheap and allows you to monitor and control the workforce.

The only time I ever wear headphones is if I really need to concentrate on a piece of work and am getting distracted. I can safely say that even without headphones I can avoid getting into conversations with chuggers and I don't really care if someone wants to ask me the time. I really dislike my kids sitting with their headphones on all the time, they have no SN. I think it puts them in their own little world where they avoid actually engaging with what's going on around them and I particularly dislike my teen having both headphones in his ears when walking down the street as I worry he can't hear if anyone is approaching him but seems that it's just me.

I and some of my colleagues wear earphones at work for several reasons, partly for me it helps with the constant tinnitus noise I suffer from, also for me and others because the general buzz of an open plan office is okay but if you have 3-4 people who have naturally louder voices which are impossible to tune out and are regularly complaining talking to people on the phone or face to face it is impossible to concentrate.

Then add in the whistlers, the tappers, the loud always older males yawners/stretchers, it can be a bit much and a pair of earphones at a low levels helps smooth it all out.

My colleague I sit next to can tune out all that without earphones, she doesn't hear it, but if someone puts a radio on it distracts her and she cant concentrate.

Everyone is different and can work best under different conditions, and of course every office environment is different, there are ones where it is not appropriate to listen to music (call centres for example) but in the ones where there is no issue, other than personal preference, micro managing and insisting everyone works your way is not going to get the best out of your team.

Shouting information across an office is not only outdated it is the most inefficient way of communicating to a team critical information, what if one member is out getting a coffee/loo break, on a call, focussed on something and mishears, doesn't need to hear that particular piece of information and it wastes their time and focus having to listen to it, or you forget to shout it out at all? Point proven by a manager who gets "sick to death" with repeating themselves if someone didn't hear something, terrible for team morale. I would listen to my team if they felt a bit a music helped with their roles and find a way my team felt they could work and communicate best not "impose" rules on them.

Sitting on your ass disturbing every team member shouting out you want an email forwarding from one person is efficient for you but inefficient for the rest of your team. There is no I in team.

I don't however walk up to them and go here have my key! Come and let yourself in any fucking time you like which is effectively what this lady has done to you!

No she hasn't Naught. I wasn't looking as she punched in her entry code but even if I was, what good would it do me? I don't have the key or entry code to her personal flat. I don't even know which flat she lives in. So if I was up to no good I'd only have access to the common parts of the block. That's not ideal and could be a security risk but I still think that was a risk worth taking seeing as she was on crutches and frail and so couldn't get in unless I helped her.

Would you prefer her to wait on the doorstep until a resident came? As it happened we did meet a resident on the way, but it was 11.15am and most people would have left for work. She could have been there for a long time. It wasn't unreasonable for her to ask for my help and it was certainly not unreasonable for me to give it.

I am sorry for your sensory problems. Of course you should take whatever steps you can to alleviate them. But you seem to be suggesting that NT people should stop benign social interaction in case they encounter someone like you and inadvertently upset them. Please tell me that's not what you're suggesting and I've got the wrong end of the stick.

Loneliness and aggression are a huge problem in this world. So sad as I am for your problems, I would be even sadder if people stopped being kind to each other

I earn a decent living, thanks (more than many of the listed occupations).

Money isn't everything wasonthelist

Money isn't everything wasonthelist

Hilarious! - remind me where I claimed it was?

My point was in response to the poster who claimed us phone-wearers "couldn't cut it!"

the only time it bothers me in the office is when people use them to avoid answering the phone. Do some work you lazy fuckers.

I get irritated with people who wear them in public places and don't hear anything you say to them. Such as 'Excuse me' when they are blocking your path in a shop doorway,or when you need to get off the bus and can't get out of your seat until they've moved as you're sitting on the inside. Or when you accidentally knock them with your bag or shopping trolley and you say 'Sorry' to them and they just glare at you as obviously they've not heard your apology. I feel like yanking them out of their ears and saying 'Try connecting with the real world!'. But the one thing that REALLY annoys me,that I seem to witness more and more frequently lately,is mothers (and fathers) who are pushing a pram or pushchair with a young child in,and they're plugged into their iPod (the parent,not the child). Fair enough if the child is asleep,but this very rarely seems to be the case. What ever happened to actually talking to your child? And being able to hear what they are saying to you? They annoy me nearly as much as parents who spend their entire time while they're out with their child glued to their phone,either chatting on it or staring at the screen. Phew! Rant over.

Hilarious! - remind me where I claimed it was?

wasonthelist I suppose it would have been okay if you'd have stopped when you followed my varied list of jobs where it was unacceptable to wear earphones - police officer, doctor, nurse, soldier, firefighter, judge, journalist, solicitor, shop worker, hairdresser etc - with the comment that those jobs entail social interaction and yours doesn't, so you like to wear earphones.

Adding ''I earn a decent living, thanks (more than many of the listed occupations)' was tin-eared, but then you're the one who wears earphones at work.

Talking about your superior earning capacity to other people in a conversation about the demands of different occupations and how well we perform them isn't relevant.

I guess you know it was me that made the comment about not being able to cut it. Or maybe you missed that. I still stand by that in most situations. Barring disability and practical concerns - wearing earphones at work is an indulgence. That's okay, there are harmless indulgences that I ask colleagues to give me and if our eccentricities don't affect the smooth running of the workplace, I think that's reasonable.

If they do, then it is reasonable to be challenged about it. If not, I reserve the right to think people who wear earphones in work for no particularly good reason as strange. Just as they might not like that fact that I eat crisps at my desk or annoy them by talking about what I watched on telly last night.