Despite laws banning the use of cellphones while driving, some cannot kick off the addiction.
Is it true that driving while texting is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated, I am not sure.
In Why e-mail must disappear from the boardroom (FT, July 27) David Beatty and J Mark Weber open their piece by stating that "boards should ban the use of BlackBerries, iPhones and all other
e-mail-enabled wireless devices in their meetings. The distractions
they create are undoubtedly contributing to bad decisions. This, of
course, is true in meetings all across organisations. But in the case
of corporate directors, failing to ban such devices may, in principle,
represent a breach of their fiduciary duties to shareholders."
They ask "when a corporate director starts replying to an e-mail, which task is
receiving attention: the message or the meeting? The most plausible
answer is the message, which means that the director who is working on
his e-mail is dedicating scarce resources to something other than that
for which shareholders are paying. If your lawyer billed you for time
spent working on someone else’s project, it would be considered
negligent at best."
Could execs and board members get sued for bad decisions caused by smart phone disorder?
In a more general context, I personally find it annoying when workers of any rank and position use texting in full view of customers.
I agree with the authors of the FT piece that their mind is on something else than work. Besides not paying attention to what's going on, it is quite rude.
David Beatty and J Mark Weber might have focused too much on e-mail when for the under 30 crowd "text" is what matters.
Wasn't the Boston bus driver involved in a collision texting his girlfriend at the time of the accident?
Besides stopping the constant chatter (or at least calling for a pause at times), could we rediscover silence and stop piping music all the time everywhere including restrooms.
Quiet, please!
The sound of silence for Monday Work Etiquette #100