Music banned, office morale de-enhanced..!?
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I work for a US corporation and I can assure you that the US corporate style is far worse, whilst the flash IT world may be Google etc the majority of US corporations are even worse than those in the UK.
You cant outrun the world, but there is no harm in getting a head start Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.
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So this morning - the last day of the week just before a long weekend, so a positive moment you'd think, until we all got an email from management saying "no headphones in the office".. :( They've just spent millions having a new state of the art office built, all ultra-modern decked out like an Ikea catalogue with games rooms, sofas, a coffee shop and unlimited corporate slogans adorning the walls along the lines of "this is your office", "we want you to be happy", "work the way you want", and all the usual BS.. I guess whatever you want is fine as long as it's the same thing as what management want too.. this one email has probably undone a lot of the goodwill that's been built up within the company over the last few months :doh: The stupidest thing is that I don't listen to music that much in the office, but the fact that someone felt the need to send email like this reflects badly on the attitude of management in itself.. what a way to start a bank holiday weekend.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
On a serious note: Let me play the devil's advocate here: I wish I had the reference, but decades ago, it was shown that music can be counter-productive in the workplace, especially if it is not purely instrumental, but involves singing. Your management is not that unreasonable!
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On a serious note: Let me play the devil's advocate here: I wish I had the reference, but decades ago, it was shown that music can be counter-productive in the workplace, especially if it is not purely instrumental, but involves singing. Your management is not that unreasonable!
I think it does depend on what style of music it is. The thing is that would subjective for each individual, and some would prefer no music at all. Isn't this all part of diversity in the workplace? Sometimes there are genuine reasons why it can't be allowed, but in most cases I think that rules like this are enforced simply because a certain manager or influential group of people in a company either don't like it or can't do it themselves.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
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On a serious note: Let me play the devil's advocate here: I wish I had the reference, but decades ago, it was shown that music can be counter-productive in the workplace, especially if it is not purely instrumental, but involves singing. Your management is not that unreasonable!
Cornelius Henning wrote:
it was shown that music can be counter-productive in the workplace
I dare to bet that a bad morale is much more counter-productive. And so is the sound that the music is probably covering up :)
Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
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So this morning - the last day of the week just before a long weekend, so a positive moment you'd think, until we all got an email from management saying "no headphones in the office".. :( They've just spent millions having a new state of the art office built, all ultra-modern decked out like an Ikea catalogue with games rooms, sofas, a coffee shop and unlimited corporate slogans adorning the walls along the lines of "this is your office", "we want you to be happy", "work the way you want", and all the usual BS.. I guess whatever you want is fine as long as it's the same thing as what management want too.. this one email has probably undone a lot of the goodwill that's been built up within the company over the last few months :doh: The stupidest thing is that I don't listen to music that much in the office, but the fact that someone felt the need to send email like this reflects badly on the attitude of management in itself.. what a way to start a bank holiday weekend.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
Is it a safety issue? Some people would play the music to the point they can't hear what goes on around them, like fire alarms, injured colleagues, requests for assistance. Try asking nicely, without prejudice and see what happens.
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Not sure it applies to contractors :( I remember it was like this the first time round, I just thought they'd turned a corner. The lesson is (I guess) that it's not the bright, shiny, ultra-modern building that makes the company what it is - it's the people. :java:
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
Brent Jenkins wrote:
I just thought they'd turned a corner
You definitely haven't read enough Dilbert. employee1: "Things are getting better." employee2: "Well, yeah, they couldn't get any worse."
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On a serious note: Let me play the devil's advocate here: I wish I had the reference, but decades ago, it was shown that music can be counter-productive in the workplace, especially if it is not purely instrumental, but involves singing. Your management is not that unreasonable!
Cornelius Henning wrote:
especially if it is not purely instrumental
actually, very true. Human voices and words in your native language are very distracting. That is why the Best Must Choice of GREAT DEVELOPERS AROUND the World is INSTRUMENTAL JAZZ!!
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So this morning - the last day of the week just before a long weekend, so a positive moment you'd think, until we all got an email from management saying "no headphones in the office".. :( They've just spent millions having a new state of the art office built, all ultra-modern decked out like an Ikea catalogue with games rooms, sofas, a coffee shop and unlimited corporate slogans adorning the walls along the lines of "this is your office", "we want you to be happy", "work the way you want", and all the usual BS.. I guess whatever you want is fine as long as it's the same thing as what management want too.. this one email has probably undone a lot of the goodwill that's been built up within the company over the last few months :doh: The stupidest thing is that I don't listen to music that much in the office, but the fact that someone felt the need to send email like this reflects badly on the attitude of management in itself.. what a way to start a bank holiday weekend.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
Brent Jenkins wrote:
"no headphones in the office"
They didn't say anything about playing your music through the speakers at maximum volume. :-D
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer
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So this morning - the last day of the week just before a long weekend, so a positive moment you'd think, until we all got an email from management saying "no headphones in the office".. :( They've just spent millions having a new state of the art office built, all ultra-modern decked out like an Ikea catalogue with games rooms, sofas, a coffee shop and unlimited corporate slogans adorning the walls along the lines of "this is your office", "we want you to be happy", "work the way you want", and all the usual BS.. I guess whatever you want is fine as long as it's the same thing as what management want too.. this one email has probably undone a lot of the goodwill that's been built up within the company over the last few months :doh: The stupidest thing is that I don't listen to music that much in the office, but the fact that someone felt the need to send email like this reflects badly on the attitude of management in itself.. what a way to start a bank holiday weekend.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
we do have same issue :(( :(( :(( Music is allowed only after 4 o'clock..
eNJOY c0ding....
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Brent Jenkins wrote:
"no headphones in the office"
They didn't say anything about playing your music through the speakers at maximum volume. :-D
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer
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Is it a safety issue? Some people would play the music to the point they can't hear what goes on around them, like fire alarms, injured colleagues, requests for assistance. Try asking nicely, without prejudice and see what happens.
Doubtful.. a few guys around me have worn earphones without any issues. We're open plan too so even if you couldn't hear the alarm, you'd still see people rushing out. Even if this was the case, I'm sure that they have the same issues with people who have hearing problems? What do they do in that case?
Tim Carmichael wrote:
Try asking nicely, without prejudice and see what happens.
The way the email was worded, it's not up for discussion.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
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Cornelius Henning wrote:
it was shown that music can be counter-productive in the workplace
I dare to bet that a bad morale is much more counter-productive. And so is the sound that the music is probably covering up :)
Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. — Edsger W. Dijkstra
Regards, Sander
-
So this morning - the last day of the week just before a long weekend, so a positive moment you'd think, until we all got an email from management saying "no headphones in the office".. :( They've just spent millions having a new state of the art office built, all ultra-modern decked out like an Ikea catalogue with games rooms, sofas, a coffee shop and unlimited corporate slogans adorning the walls along the lines of "this is your office", "we want you to be happy", "work the way you want", and all the usual BS.. I guess whatever you want is fine as long as it's the same thing as what management want too.. this one email has probably undone a lot of the goodwill that's been built up within the company over the last few months :doh: The stupidest thing is that I don't listen to music that much in the office, but the fact that someone felt the need to send email like this reflects badly on the attitude of management in itself.. what a way to start a bank holiday weekend.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
I love the headphones! It makes it easier to walk up behind someone and startle the heck out them. Seriously though, there is more evidence that music increases productivity[^]. Of course the research does point out that not all types of music increases creative abilities.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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I love the headphones! It makes it easier to walk up behind someone and startle the heck out them. Seriously though, there is more evidence that music increases productivity[^]. Of course the research does point out that not all types of music increases creative abilities.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
Years ago I worked for a very small company - the director was a bit of a wide-boy and loved expensive suits. So much so, that he forced everyone else in the company to also wear suits. His reasoning was that it made him feel professional, so therefore it would make all of us feel professional too. Some people just refuse to accept that different people have different views on the world. I'd wager that the guy who's come up with the headphone rule here finds headphones distracting himself. Therefore.. banned for everybody.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
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In a smaller company I would challenge it, but this is my second stint here and I know (from experience) that the quickest way to get kicked out is to start introducing logical arguments.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
You just need to find the right thing to push back with. I'm partial to fine products from Peoria[^].
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt
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I love the headphones! It makes it easier to walk up behind someone and startle the heck out them. Seriously though, there is more evidence that music increases productivity[^]. Of course the research does point out that not all types of music increases creative abilities.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
-
Cornelius Henning wrote:
especially if it is not purely instrumental
actually, very true. Human voices and words in your native language are very distracting. That is why the Best Must Choice of GREAT DEVELOPERS AROUND the World is INSTRUMENTAL JAZZ!!
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I'm still trying to find out how to not get startled by someone while wearing headphones. Happens almost every time since my group is in an open area with all our backs facing the center.
-
So this morning - the last day of the week just before a long weekend, so a positive moment you'd think, until we all got an email from management saying "no headphones in the office".. :( They've just spent millions having a new state of the art office built, all ultra-modern decked out like an Ikea catalogue with games rooms, sofas, a coffee shop and unlimited corporate slogans adorning the walls along the lines of "this is your office", "we want you to be happy", "work the way you want", and all the usual BS.. I guess whatever you want is fine as long as it's the same thing as what management want too.. this one email has probably undone a lot of the goodwill that's been built up within the company over the last few months :doh: The stupidest thing is that I don't listen to music that much in the office, but the fact that someone felt the need to send email like this reflects badly on the attitude of management in itself.. what a way to start a bank holiday weekend.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
Brent Jenkins wrote:
Re: Music banned, office morale de-enhanced..!?
Music isn't banned - HEADPHONES are. Have everyone turn on Pandora and tune to their favorite channel..
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Brent Jenkins wrote:
Re: Music banned, office morale de-enhanced..!?
Music isn't banned - HEADPHONES are. Have everyone turn on Pandora and tune to their favorite channel..
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
Coder (Hired) wrote:
Music isn't banned - HEADPHONES are.
We did consider having a singalong, but considering that people here have been told "no talking" before... :laugh:
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
