Open Office Headphone Etiquette
Headphones on the head mean, stay away. Mostly. Here’s the right way to get a headphone wearer’s attention.
There is a lot to say about the modern open office, not much of it good. But this is the way we work now, so we might as well get used to it. And that means new rules of behavior. Case in point: Headphones.
Many office workers, yours truly included, rely on headphones to keep out the din and bustle of the noise around them. But headphones serve another purpose in addition to blocking noise: They signal coworkers that we’re engaged in our work. It’s the open office equivalent of closing the office door. Headphones on the head say, “I am working, do not interrupt me with chit-chat.”
But headphones aren’t absolute. Wearing them does not mean, “Leave me alone on pain of death.” If we have something to do that requires absolute isolation and privacy, there are conference rooms we can squat in.
So if the headphone is the equivalent of a closed office door, what is the new equivalent of knocking on it?
It’s still a knock.
When you want to get the attention of someone who’s jacked in to their work, knock on their desk. It’s far more polite than yelling at them, jumping up and down in their field of view, or just ripping the ‘phones off their head and talking right into their ear. It’s the most likely gesture to be noticed (the vibrations are unlike normal sound, and transfer to the person’s hands or arms if they’re working at a computer), and far less disruptive to other people working nearby.
The rest of the world
Headphones send the leave-me-alone signal in other settings, too. But the knock method doesn’t work in many of them. On a bus or a plane, for example, to get the attention of a person wearing headphones, a wave in their field of view is appropriate. (If they’re sleeping, leave them alone.) On the street, a tap on the shoulder. A surly teenager draped over a couch? Try tickling. If that doesn’t work, turn off the house WiFi.
A related, unpaid endorsement: I recommend the Bose QC35 noise-canceling headphones for the office. They cut down the rumble of an open office and will help you focus. Recent reviews say the Sony WH-1000XM2s are even better. And here’s another tip: This is a business expense. Get your company to pay for them.