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Mobile phones and PDAs (personal digital assistants) are fast becoming the bane of British businesses, with almost two-thirds of workers complaining of poor mobile habits amongst their co-workers, or so latest research from polling organisation YouGov suggests.

The report, carried out under commission from T-Mobile, found that although 80 per cent of British office workers consider it unacceptable to send or read a text message during a meeting, a staggering 61 per cent also admit to ‘practising poor mobile manners’ themselves.

Surprisingly, however, although 87 per cent of those polled also admitted to ‘feeling irritated’ when a mobile phone rings during a meeting, over 50 per cent of firms appear not to offer any guidance with regard to acceptable use of mobile equipment at work. Media companies (73 per cent) appear to be among the worst offenders in this respect.

That said, British workers do appear to be rather more rigorous in terms of their adherence to appropriate linguistic convention. This is because the survey discovered that good grammar is important to the majority of BlackBerry users, with 74 per cent typing full sentences and punctuating properly. Pedants rejoice!

T-Mobile has compiled some easy guidelines to reduce mobile tension in the workplace. Cinema and theatregoers may also like to take note.

1. Ensure your mobile phone is off or on silent mode during meetings

2. Do not answer calls during meetings

3. Do not send text messages during meetings

4. Do not leave your mobile device on the table in vibrate mode. The noise can be very disruptive and there is also the risk of the phone vibrating clear off the table, possibly into the bin.

5. If you are expecting an important call during a meeting, let the participants know at the beginning of the meeting. When you receive the call, discreetly excuse yourself from the room

6. Ask yourself: ‘Do I really need my mobile device for the time period of this meeting or can I leave it behind?’

7.Leave laptops closed during meetings. Only open laptops if resources are needed to support the meeting

8. Don’t check emails on either BlackBerry devices or laptops during meetings. If necessary, turn on ‘Out of Office’ to alert those emailing you that you will be in a meeting and are unable to respond immediately

9. Take your phone with you if you leave your desk, or turn the phone off or onto silent mode

10 Provide a policy on the appropriate use of mobile devices in your workplace

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