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Smartphone Use Twice as Likely to Bother Women in the Workplace

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Oct 24, 2013 08:51 PM EDT

A recent study shows that women are twice as likely as men to be offended by smartphone use.

According to researchers at Howard University, discourteous behavior in the workplace can provide implications about bad behavior outside the work environment and cause tension among coworkers.

Peter W. Cardon of the USC Marshall School of Business, who co-authored the study, notes that this is the first empirical baseline for how attitudes towards mobile phone use break down across various factors, including gender, age and region.

Researchers looked at a national sample of more than 550 full-time working professionals, showing what's qualified as acceptable and non-acceptable in the workplace. The most common problems included browsing the Internet and checking text messages.

The study authors also asked working professionals hearing at least $30,000 a year to identify what they considered to both acceptable and rude in the workplace.

"Hiring managers often cite courtesy as among the most important soft skills they notice. By focusing on civility, young people entering the workforce may be able to set themselves apart," said Cardon, associate professor of clinical management communication at the USC Marshall School of Business Center for Management Communication, via a press release.

Here are their findings, courtesy of the release:

"Not surprisingly, millennials and younger professionals were more likely to be accepting of smartphone use, but they might be doing themselves a disservice," Cardon added, via the release. "In many situations, they rely on those older than them for their career advancement."

More information regarding the study can be found via the Business Communication Quarterly

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