Surely it’s happened to you, or perhaps you’ve been guilty yourself. You approach a coworker to ask an important question, and to answer you they remove only one iPod earbud. You can’t help but wonder whether you have their full attention.

According to the latest Spherion^® survey, nearly one-third of us listen while we work using an iPod, MP3 player or similar personal music device. With more workers jamming out while they’re clocked in, it makes sense to brush up on workplace “tech-tiquette.” 

The latest numbers show more than 60 million people worldwide own iPods, so it’s not surprising that 32% of adults listen to them or similar devices while at work. However, not adhering to company policy or common courtesy can send your career down the tubes faster than you can say “MP3.” Here are some pointers for staying polite and professional:

• Queue up workplace policies.
  Before you pop in your earphones, make sure you pop by HR to ask about workplace policies or acceptable use guidelines at your company. You’ll enjoy listening to your music a whole lot more if you don’t feel like you’re breaking the rules to do it.


• Know how often to listen.
  Once you’ve gotten the go ahead to plug in, adhere to company policies and common sense as to how often to listen to music. For example, having your earphones on when you’re up against a deadline and don’t want to be disturbed is fine, but leave them in all day, every day, and you’ll soon become the subject of irritated coworkers’ conversation.


• Know where to listen.
  There are certain situations or events where being plugged in is just not appropriate, including meetings, customer calls, conference calls, company activities, training classes and the like. 


• Mind your levels.
  Just because you find Dolly Parton’s hit “9 to 5” motivational doesn’t mean your coworkers do. If people can hear a buzz resonating from your earphones, the volume is too high. Not to mention that too-loud tunes can drown out fire alarms, public address announcements, pages and even telephones. 

Done appropriately, listening to a personal music device at work can have its benefits. For example, the Spherion study found that of the 32% of workers who listen while they work, 55% feel it improves both their job satisfaction and productivity. Just make sure you don’t sabotage the advantages by disregarding good manners.