STUDY: PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY, IMPRESS YOUR BOSS

Want to impress your boss? Researchers from the University of Kansas say the best thing an employee can do during a company meeting is hide their cellphone. Just having your cellphone out during a meeting creates a perception that you are less competent. In the study, published in the journal Mobile Media & Communication, nearly 250 participants watched several videos of people using either a paper notebook, laptop, or cellphone during a business meeting. Cellphone users in particular were judged as snubbing their co-workers and received poor grades for competence from the people watching the videos. The reason, according to the study, is something called “introspective illusion.” Observers naturally assume that you’re not working when you are on your phone, even if you say you are working from it – because they admit to doing the same. You’ll make a better impression working off of a laptop.
* Or – and this is a crazy suggestion – try listening to the boss leading the meeting.
* If you must have your phone out, try to resist the urge to put funny filters on your boss’s face.
* You may make a better impression using a laptop in meetings, but its harder to hide the porn.
* Cellphones in a meeting. It’s the new daydreaming.