Only Fools Bring Smartphones To Business Meetings
It's almost impossible to go anywhere today and not see somebody on their smartphone, but one study found there's one place where they aren't very welcome.
A recent article from The Entrepreneur says using your phone during business meetings annoys your boss and colleagues, and can end up harming your career.
Here are some of the findings from a nationwide survey of 554 full-time working professionals earning above $30K and working in companies with at least 50 employees. :
- 86% think it’s inappropriate to answer phone calls during meetings
- 84% think it’s inappropriate to write texts or emails during meetings
- 66% think it’s inappropriate to write texts or emails even during lunches offsite
- The more money people make the less they approve of smartphone use.
So what kind of message do you send when you pull your phone out during a meeting? The author says you will display a:
- Lack of respect. You consider the information on your phone to be more important than the conversation at hand, and you view people outside of the meeting to be more important than those sitting right in front of you.
- Lack of attention. You are unable to stay focused on one thing at a time.
- Lack of listening. You aren’t practicing active listening, so no one around you feels heard.
- Lack of power. You are like a modern-day Pavlovian dog who responds to the whims of others through the buzz of your phone.
- Lack of self-awareness: You don’t understand how ridiculous your behavior looks to other people.
- Lack of social awareness: You don’t understand how your behavior affects those around you.
So just remember to hold off on those texts and emails until you're on your own time. Your future will thank you.