Chances are, your office has one: The worker who’s cell phone volume is set at its highest level all day. And that’s just one of the many workplace annoyances that have become commonplace since consumer tech gadgets hit the office.

The problem: Many managers believe these items disrupt business and decrease productivity, all of which impacts the bottom line.

But as the arbiter of what makes business sense and what doesn’t, you’re in a good spot to help the organization overcome the challenges of tech toys in the workplace.

Here are a few ways to consider getting started.

Most of the problems associated with these gadgets can be managed with some common sense and an appeal to courtesy. Things like:

• Cell phone volume. Ask employees to set their phones on vibrate while they’re in the office. That way, they won’t miss important calls and they won’t distract others with “Rock around the Clock” ringtones.
• Too much “reply all” use. Broadcast e-mails can often get out of hand when users hit “reply all” to respond to this kind of message, even if the sender is the only necessary recipient. Solution: Ask IT to configure the e-mail client to reply only to the sender by default.
• Overuse of high-tech shorthand. Things like BTW, IMO and LOL have become standard in e-mail conversations, but not everyone is quite so savvy and tech literate. Stress to workers that these acronyms should be used only if they’re sure the audience knows them.
• Camera phones. You might want to consider making it a rule that there’s no snapping photos in the office unless there’s a clear business need and the subject’s permission’s been clearly given. There could be costly legal exposure here that nobody wants to see.

Tags: cell phone, e-mail, etiquette, Gadgets, manners, productivity, tech toys