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An Apple iPod music and video player is shown in an October 2006 image.
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Nearly a quarter of British workers plug in their MP3 players to listen to music while on the job -- sparking lively debate over whether they should be banned, a study said.
Over 30 percent of companies haveoutlawedusing devices like the ubiquitous iPod in the workplace, according to Woods Bagot, an international design practice.
"By wearing the highly-visible, white headphones, they're ... sending a signal to colleagues that they don't want to be bothered," said Simon Pole, head of the company's head of corporate interiors.
According to the study, 22 percent of workers spend an average of three hours per day listening to MP3 players.
But some argue that the trend is only natural: previously workers were physically separated by walls, whereas offices are increasingly open-plan nowadays, pushing them to erect new barriers.
"The MP3 player is the simplest way to create your own office," said the company.
And Cary Cooper, professor of organization psychology at Lancaster University, and author of "Shut up and Listen: The Truth About How to Communicate at Work," said bans werecounter-productive.
"Employers are wrong to ban MP3 players from the workplace. It's crucial to give workers autonomy, and bans of any sort can alienate workers," he said.
"Bosses shouldn't care about how employees accomplish their objectives or if they want to engross themselves in MP3 players -- as long as the job gets done," he added.
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(Agencies)
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一項最新調查顯示，近四分之一的英國職員上班時聽MP3，這引起人們對是否應禁止這一行為展開激烈的討論。
據伍茲·貝格特國際設計公司介紹，30％以上的公司禁止員工上班時使用諸如iPod之類的隨身播放器。
室內設計部經理西門·波爾說：“耳朵里塞著清楚可見的白色耳機，這分明是在告訴其他同事別來打擾他。”
調查發現，22%的員工每天聽MP3的時間平均為3個小時。
但有的人則認為，上班時聽MP3很正常。以前員工們都有自己獨立的辦公空間，而如今辦公室的格局設計越來越開放，所以員工們不得不采用新的方式來“開拓”個人空間。
伍茲·貝格特公司說：“聽MP3是‘開拓’個人空間最為簡單的辦法。”
蘭開斯特大學組織心理學教授、《閉嘴！傾聽：工作中的溝通法則》一書的作者卡里·庫伯說，“禁令”往往會適得其反。
他說：“老板們不應該禁止員工上班時聽MP3，因為讓員工得到充分的自主權很重要，‘禁令’會使員工對公司產生敵對情緒。”
“只要員工們完成任務，老板們不必在意他們是如何完成的，也不用在意他們上班時是否聽了MP3。”
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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