Techies plugging in and tuning out

The IT department is plugged in in more ways than one. While sat at their workstations, it appears techies are most likely to be found sporting a pair of headphones and indulging their passion for pop music and podcasts.

When asked whether IT staff listen to music or podcasts through headphones at their desks more than half (53 per cent) of respondents to a silicon.com poll said techies not only tune in (or out, depending on your view) but are apparently not breaking company rules by doing so.

But such relaxed working conditions are not enjoyed by all IT staff: 18 per cent of poll respondents said people in the IT department don't listen to podcasts or music on the job at all. And although 16 per cent said techies do enjoy a spot of recreational listening at work, this is behaviour frowned upon by management.

Meanwhile, a devil-may-care 13 per cent not only choose to crank up their favourite track as they work through helpdesk logs but also blast it out over speakers so their colleagues have to listen too.

Consumer tech filtering into the workplace can certainly be an issue for IT departments - and not just because of forced exposure to other people's questionable music tastes.

At this year's InfoSec conference, for instance, security experts talked up the 'insider threat' posed by staff using technology such as MP3 players in the workplace. With such devices becoming commonplace in the office, it's all too easy for a rogue employee to carry out covert data theft - a process known as 'pod-slurping'.

The poll was based on the responses of 308 silicon.com readers.