Perceptions of Civility for Mobile Phone Use in Formal and Informal

Meetings

Melvin WashingtonEphraim A. OkoroHoward University

Peter W. CardonUniversity of South Carolina

2013 ABC Midwestern, Southeast Conference, Louisville, Kentucky

Study 1: Exploratory Company Study (primarily open-ended)

Company sample of 204 employees at a beverage distributor on the East Coast

Higher management taking a call in the middle of a meeting is common. Even checking an incoming call makes you feel less important and distracts from the information being presented.

Selected Responses from Corporate Employees to the Question

Have You Recently Observed Disrespectful Mobile Phone Behavior in the Workplace?

I recently had a meeting where the manager of the restaurant answered his phone and talked for ten minutes while I sat and waited. I thought a long conversation was rude.

I have seen individuals answer phones loudly during meetings without excusing themselves. Unfortunately, this has become the norm in some workplaces and has become an acceptable practice.

Study 2: Nationwide Survey of Working Professionals (survey-based)

Nationwide sample of 350 full-time professionals with annual salaries greater than $30,000

Count Percentage Count PercentageGender Region

Men 186 53.1 Midwest 82 23.4Women 164 46.9 Northeast 93 26.6

Age Group Southeast 83 23.721-30 35 10.0 Southwest 45 12.931-40 95 27.1 West 47 13.441-50 87 24.9 Ethnicity51-65 133 38.0 African Americans 22 6.3

Income Asian Americans 17 4.9$30,000 to $50,000 87 24.8 Hispanic Americans 18 5.1$50,000 to $80,000 124 35.4 European American 259 74.0$80,000 to $100,000 62 17.7 Native American 4 1.1Over $100,000 77 22.0 Other 30 8.6

Total 350 100 Total 350 100

Terms Used in this Presentation

• Civility is “politeness or courtesy”– Scale used for appropriateness of mobile phone behaviors:

1 = usually appropriate2 = sometimes appropriate3 = rarely appropriate4 = never appropriate

• Social norms are defined as “customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others”

• Formal and informal meetings

Definition for civility from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2009). Definition for social norms from Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume (Eds), “Social Norms” in New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, London: Macmillan (forthcoming).

Norms of Civility for Mobile Phone Use in Formal Meetings

M SD# Who Say

Rarely/Never% Who Say

Rarely/Never

Answering a call 3.39 0.82 305 87.1

Writing and sending texts 3.38 0.87 294 84.0

Checking text messages 3.15 0.95 266 76.0

Browsing the Internet 3.17 0.95 265 75.7

Checking time with phone 2.75 1.03 202 57.7

Checking incoming calls 2.73 0.98 196 56.0

Bringing phone to meeting 2.63 0.97 195 55.7

Excusing oneself to answer call 2.69 0.88 191 54.6

Majority Say This Behavior is Generally Not Acceptable – Implies Norm Against this Behavior

M SD# Who Say

Rarely/Never% Who Say

Rarely/Never

Writing and sending texts 2.89 0.97 232 66.3

Answering a call 2.69 0.92 215 61.4

Browsing the Internet 2.83 1.02 215 61.4

Checking text messages 2.59 0.97 186 53.1

Excusing oneself to answer call 2.23 0.90 119 34.0

Checking incoming calls 2.23 0.91 118 33.7

Checking time with phone 2.19 0.96 115 32.9

Bringing phone to meeting 1.92 0.88 77 22.0

Norms of Civility for Mobile Phone Use in Informal Meetings

Majority Say This Behavior is Generally Not Acceptable – Implies Norm Against this Behavior

Model 1:

Formal MeetingsModel 2:

Informal Meetings B SE B B SE BAge 1.72** .24 2.30** .29Gender (Men)

Women -.84 .50 -2.46** .60Income -.35** .10 -.216 .12Region (Northeast)

Midwest .48 .70 -.66 .85West -2.28** .83 -1.36 1.00Southwest -.90 .84 -2.26* 1.01Southeast -.32 .70 -1.23 .84

Note. R2 = .19 for Model 1; R2 = .20 for Model 2. *p < .05. **p < .01. Variables in parentheses are baseline measures for dummy coded variables.

Regression for Nationwide SamplePositive coefficients imply more acceptance of mobile phone use in meeting.Negative coefficients imply less acceptance of mobile phone use in meetings.

Appropriateness of Actions at Formal Business Meetings – NATIONAL SAMPLE

Age Strongly Impacts Perceived Appropriateness in Formal Meetings but….Most Younger Employees Still Consider Most Mobile Phone Behaviors Inappropriate

21-30 31-40 41-50 51-650%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

34%

6%

43%

51%

16%

Age Group

% ofSometimes or UsuallyAcceptableResponses

Checking texts/emails

Writing and sending textsAnswering a call

21-30 31-40 41-50 51-650%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

66%

20%

63%

26%

80%

33%

Age Group

% ofSometimes or UsuallyAcceptableResponses

Informal Business Lunch Meetings – NATIONAL SAMPLE

Age Makes a Big Difference in Perceptions of Appropriate Behaviors

Checking texts/emailsWriting and sending textsAnswering a call

Writing and sending texts

Answering a call

Checking text messages

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

23%

26%

34%

43%

50%

59%

Men Women

Percentage of Respondents Who Consider Action Usually or Sometimes Appropriate

Appropriateness of Actions at Informal Business Lunch Meetings – NATIONAL SAMPLEWomen are Far Less Tolerant of Disruptive Mobile Phone Behavior

Conclusions

• There is a social norm against nearly all mobile phone behaviors in formal meetings.

• In general, younger professionals are more accepting of mobile phone behaviors in formal and informal meetings.

• Women are less accepting of mobile phone behaviors in informal meetings.

Conclusions (cont.)

• Higher-income professionals are less accepting of mobile phone behaviors in formal meetings.

– Are people in higher-level leadership positions less accepting of mobile phone use in meetings?

• Additional issues we want to explore:– Attitudes versus behaviors– Intensity of feelings and impact on work performance– Similarities and differences across regions and national

cultures

Thank you for attending our session!

Please contact us anytime:

Melvin Washington m_c_washington@howard.eduEphraim Okoro eaokoro@howard.eduPeter Cardon petercardon@gmail.com