I’m sitting in a meeting right now reading/responding to a message on my Blackberry…I know it’s kind of rude but…
a) I’m too busy to sit in a meeting giving anyone my undivided attention
b) I really don’t need to be at this meeting. They want face time, team time, O.K. they’ve got it…but they can’t have my undivided attention
c) What’s undivided attention?
If you’re a typical executive, the person making and completing the statement above could be you.
Robert Half Management Resources surveyed 150 senior executives -- including those from human resources, finance and marketing departments -- with the nation's 1,000 largest companies and asked, "In your experience, how common is it for professionals you work with to read and respond to e-mail messages on their
mobile devices (i.e., BlackBerry, Treo) during business meetings?"
Here’s what they said:
Very common 53%
Somewhat common 33%
Somewhat uncommon 9%
Very uncommon 5%
100%
Respondents were then asked, "Which of the following most closely
describes your reaction when professionals read and respond to e-mail
during business meetings?" Their responses:
37% said “It's OK to read and respond to messages during the meeting
but only if the message is urgent
31% said “It's never OK. E-mail devices should be turned off or
not brought to the meeting at all
23% said “It's OK to check messages as long as attendees excuse themselves
and step outside the meeting to respond.”
9 % “It's perfectly acceptable to read and respond to messages
during the meeting, especially at a time when what is being said
doesn't pertain to them.”
What do you think?
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