Wainhouse Research, a consulting firm in Duxbury, Mass., estimates that a knowledge worker — one whose job focuses on handling information — in the United States spends an average of 104 minutes each month in conference calls. Such calls have become an orgy of multitasking, serving as a backdrop for a free-for-all of household chores, personal hygiene, online shopping and last-minute income tax filing. As a result, conference calls give rise to what could well be society’s most widespread, implicitly sanctioned collection of antisocial behaviors.
Most people would not dream of brandishing a Swiffer, to say nothing of flossing their teeth or extracting unwanted hairs, during a face-to-face meeting with professional colleagues. But the rules change for conference calls.
”- Katie Hafner, The Modern Meeting: Call In, Turn Off, Tune Out - The New York Times
from Stowe Boyd http://stoweboyd.com/post/134654324552
