Cellphones in the workplace are driving us crazy

Like a miniature terrier, sometimes it's the tiniest things that make the shrillest noise.

Did the inventors of cellphone message alerts and ringtones really anticipate that an entire generation of cubicle workers would be forced to endure shoddy versions of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ludacris throughout the workday?

Maybe it was assumed that most workers would leave their personal phones turned off at work, or that they would enjoy the lovely "Super Mario Brothers" theme on weekends only.

But with more than 11 million new cellphone users estimated in the last six-month reporting period alone, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association, it's no surprise that all those personalized beeps, buzzes and electronic rings have hit a critical mass. And that mass has made its way into the workplace. Nearly a third of office workers cite cellphones as their No. 1 peeve, a survey from Randstad USA found.

Mike Bishop, a 35-year-old distribution coordinator who works in a row of cubicles at Trident Seafoods in Seattle, agrees. He says his company does not have a policy on personal cellphones so he's taken matters into his own hands. Literally.

"People next to me have their phone set on high volume and it really makes me want to go flush it down the toilet," he says. "In fact, I have threatened to do that."

His threats went unheeded, so Bishop found more creative solutions. When phones go off on surrounding desks and co-workers are nowhere to be found, he simply walks over and turns them off. If this fails or he can't find the off button, he takes the battery out of the phone. A satisfying, though temporary, solution.

Today's favorite ring tones

1. Chris Brown featuring Jay Biz, "Poppin' "

2. Buckcherry, "Crazy Bitch"

3. Nickelback, "Rockstar"

4. Afroman, "Because I Got High"

5. 50 Cent featuring Olivia, "Candy Shop"

6. Lil Jon & East Side Boyz featuring Usher and Ludacris, "Lovers and Friends"

7. Black Eyed Peas, "My Humps"

8. Beyoncé, "Irreplaceable"

9. Rascal Flatts, "What Hurts the Most"

10. 50 Cent and Olivia,

"Best Friend"

Source: Billboard

"All day long it's all sorts of different rings going off loudly," says Bishop, who keeps his own phone turned off in his coat pocket. "Those ringtones are especially bad. The guy next to me has a cuckoo-clock ring and it is highly annoying." Midway through his rant, Bishop paused. "Wait, one is going off right now! Can you hear it?"

"I hear a symphony ... "

The more people who sign on for a cellular lifestyle, the more alarms and beeps we will hear. The Wireless Association says text-message use has jumped 71 percent from June 2005 to June 2006, and that in some households cellphones have replaced landlines entirely.

As the population of cellphone users continues to grow, so does the blurring of our personal and professional boundaries. We slip our phone into our pocket to take with us wherever we go, from home, to work and even into the bathroom.

Peter Grant, a contract engineer, works in a cubicle in a section of his office with about 50 other people. He says personal cellphones in the office are no big deal. In fact, he likes them.

His phone has always rested on his desk during work, and the message-alert ring is the theme from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."

"The co-workers like hearing it," says Grant, who adds that when his phone rings he shuts it off immediately. "They say [it's] cute."

Office cellphone etiquette

Turn your phone off when you are in a meeting, whether with one or 1,000 people.

Turn your phone off whenever you're in a quiet environment.

Turn your phone off when you aren't around to answer it by the third ring.

Put your phone on vibrate if you must leave it on.

If you are expecting a call you must take, tell others ahead of time.

If you must take a call when in a meeting or with others, step outside.

Leave your phone in the car if you can't trust yourself to remember to turn it off.

If you must keep your phone on, turn down the ringer volume.

If you must talk on the phone in public, talk quietly. No one wants to hear the intimate details of your conversation.

Source: Sue Morem

The problem isn't the occasional cellphone ring — office phones ring, too — but the sheer number of personal phone calls, which disrupt momentum and become a burden for everybody, says Sue Morem, workplace advice columnist and author of "How to Gain the Professional Edge" and "How to Get a Job and Keep It," due out in April.

"It's pretty sad if you think about it," says Morem. "It's OK to be unavailable for a period of time. There is a sense of urgency to our lives so that we feel like we can't give ourselves even an hour to be unavailable."

Many people have kids, who now have their own cellphones, allowing parents to be constantly available. Morem wonders what this teaches our kids. "If there is a real emergency, there is always an alternative number where someone can reach you," she says. She suggests keeping the phone off and checking messages once an hour.

Workplace nightmare

The problem with disruptive cellphones is compounded because about 60 percent of workplaces do not have policies on personal cellphone use, according to a survey from the Society for Human Resource Management. And among those that do, the policy is often ignored.

Steve Chick, a licensed mental-health therapist, has also noticed an increase in cellphone use in professional settings. "It drives me crazy! Especially the ringtones," he says.

Many of his clients pick up their phones during a session, starting another conversation as he sits and waits for them to finish.

"Our social norms have been tweaked due to the electronic age," he says. "We have so many electronic gadgets now, that's part of the problem. People feel that they can't live without them."

Instead of threatening to flush a co-worker's Motorola or ripping out the battery, he says there are better ways to handle irritating behavior.

"If it's causing a problem, talk to the other person," says Chick, who recommends taking ownership of the problem. "Ask them if they could put the phone on vibrate. Say, 'I get distracted easily and I can't concentrate, so can you do this for me?' Make it about you, not about them."

Something that bothers one person might not bother another — and that includes Chick.

"For example, if I happen to hear an AC/DC ringtone, I'm all over it. I start rocking out."