Business owners urged to crackdown on iPods & Internet

A leading law firm is urging business owners to crackdown on iPod and internet use following a survey that revealed an increasing number of workers are tuning out of the workplace.

Mace & Jones says it is seriously concerned by research from the design company Woods Bagot which found that more than one in five workers are listening to iPods and similar devices at their desks. Just under a quarter of employees used their MP3 music player for up to three hours a day in offices according to the study. The survey authors estimate 30 per cent of firms are now banning them from the office.

Mace & Jones head of employment law Martin Edwards said firms are well within their rights to clamp down on iPod use to prevent workers slacking and shutting out colleagues.

“The fear is that iPod use is driving a wedge between older members of staff and younger workers,’ he said. “Moreover it can be a serious distraction to the person listening to the music isolating them from their colleagues and the essential cut and thrust of the office. It is simply not healthy for an office if people are tuning out of their surroundings. Furthermore there is a real concern that listening to music can interrupt concentration and lead to less productive workers which fundamentally costs business man hours.”

Mr Edwards further urged firms to take a tough line on internet use on the run up to Christmas with the Daily Telegraph reporting firms could lose as much as £7.25bn with staff surfing the net for presents.

“This is not about party pooping this is about running an efficient organized office,’ he said. “Every hour a member of staff spends looking for Christmas presents online is an hour they should have spent working. It is advisable that employers set out clear guidelines for how much time staff can spend on the internet for matters unrelated to work.”