Stop that: Fiddling with the mobile at meetings is extremely rude

Few would dispute that mobile phones are an indispensable business tool. But it seems that a lack of mobile manners is driving many of us mad. A recent survey found that 62 per cent of workers were annoyed about bad mobile habits in the office. So how should we use these canny compact communicators in the workplace?

Jo Aitchison, of those arbiters of etiquette, Debrett’s, says: “Choose a subtle and unobtrusive ringtone for the office,” she says. “Or better, keep it on silent.”

This would certainly help in those open-plan offices where a manic mix of wacky ringtones makes up the daily background cacophony, often from phones abandoned on desks and left to ring incessantly.

And how about business meetings? The research by network providers T-Mobile found that 87 per cent of us said that taking a call, texting or dealing with e-mails on a mobile device during a meeting was extremely rude; yet so many of us do it. “Phone calls should never interrupt face-to-face meetings,” says Jo Aitchison. “Mobiles should be switched off, or set to silent.” Isobel Bradshaw, of the service provider O2 UK, agrees. “The silent or meeting settings are on all mobiles for a reason,” she says. The advice from T-Mobile is unequivocal on meetings manners: don’t check e-mails; leave laptops closed; don’t leave your phone in the middle of the table on vibrate; don’t send texts; and don’t take or make phone calls.

It’s clear that poor mobile manners is a global issue. A recent debate on etiquette on a US phone provider’s website offers some choice examples of bad behaviour. One businesswoman attended a board meeting where the director giving the presentation had not only left his phone on but answered a call during his talk. Another worker expressed her irritation with colleagues thus: “Thou shalt not come into my office, interrupt my work to start a conversation, and then answer your cell phone while you continue to sit in my office.”

The business lunch is another battleground. Jo is firm. “Keep the phone out of sight,” she says. “If an urgent call is expected, put your phone on vibrate, warn your companion and when it comes through, excuse yourself to take the call away from the table.”

We could all help keep offices saner if we turned down the volume: on ourselves. As O2’s Bradshaw reminds us: “All mobile technology is now digital. There is no need to shout into your phone.”