The entire office is wireless so if you have a laptop you can basically work from anywhere in the building. Sometimes when I have to write a top secret document (like my resume) I go sit on the can with my thinkpad. We also have a internal chat app so people now spend half their time instant messaging each other rather than walking down the hall and doing a face to face. While this is all very convenient I’ve noticed that the level of common sense and good manners amongst the employees has dropped even lower.
Today, a VIP from out of town came to Japan to give some product presentations. These presentations are not the most exciting affairs but they serve their purpose. Recently, people have been bringing their laptops to these presentations. I can understand having your PC during meetings and telecons but presentations are different. I believe that giving the presenter your undivided attention is just good manners. But it seems that for a lot of people it’s just another entry on their outlook calendar. One guy in today’s presentation was chatting for the entire hour and typing really loudly. On top of that, his cell phone rang 4 times and he answered it and mumbled in it while continuing his chatting. I don’t know whether he was attending to important business or not but if it was important he should have just left and taken his noisy keyboard with him. The presenter didn’t seem to be bothered by this kind of thing which was sad in a way. We are all so used to this kind of behavior that it’s considered normal.
I made a note to myself to do only one thing at a time and focus only on that one thing while I am doing it.
I fully agree with you on this. It also happens in our office that people don’t pay attention when visitors do a presentation or something similar. It does annoy me but it seems to be a sign of our times.
I think the least they can do it to pretend that they are listening. I should add that it is mostly foreign staff that do this more so than the Japanese.
On Friday I walked past a training room near my cube and noticed that the entire back row was playing solitare while the teacher was talking. At first it looked like it was training FOR solitare. Bad tech manners seems to be an international phenomemon.
Don’t get me started on Blackberrys!
But you could be watching and your mind is elsewhere. That is no better or worse. I was looking at my iBook in a meeting today; not all the time but checking for an important incoming mail.
It is up to the speaker to be stunnning and if someone has their head in solitaire well then the teacher should see that and USE it in some way to get them out of it. I ban things in my classes. Come on;speaker take charge.
If you are reading this while in a meeting …. er … you are excused.
Sounds irritating all right. It’s not even “multitasking.” It’s ignoring one task and working on another one instead in a rude manner.
Roy, I totally agree with you. It is bad manners to have cell phones ringing non-stop during meetings and presentations. If the calls are so important, perhaps the said persons should not even attend the meetings or presentations.
Unfortunately, it seems like the case whereby if the big bosses themselves do not set a positive example, they have no right to reprimmand their employees who follow their footsteps.
I have rules when I am chairing the meeting. No laptops, put down the screen if you brought one in. I have no problem getting full attention and participation. Also, I bring in healthy snacks once in a while to make them look forward to my meetings. It works.
Only been to Japan once. late last year. I always thought that such ill-mannered behaviour is rare in Japan.