More than one in five use iPods at work

More than one in five workers are tuning out of the workplace by listening to MP3 players at their desks, a study has claimed. Some 22 per cent of employees use their iPod or other digital music player for up to three hours a day in the office, according to the survey. And 30 per cent of British firms have banned the devices. Listening to music and podcasts has become another way for staff to shut out colleagues after open plan offices replaced partially enclosed desk cubicles, according to the research.

Of the 120 companies polled by workplace interior experts Woods Bagot between September and October, banking and legal firms were the least iPod-friendly, while the marketing and media sector was most tolerant of MP3 players.

'One in five' use iPods at work - AOL Lifestyle