Released on = December 26, 2006, 5:43 pm

Press Release Author = Multicultural Business Council

Industry = Small Business

Press Release Summary = The newest trend in the office is in the form of MP3
players, iPods, and Bluetooth headsets. They present significant customer service
and safety issues

Press Release Body = As the workforce continues to age they can be expected that
employees will more frequently be listening to personal music while at work. A
recent study by Spherion shows that 22% of Baby Boomers listen to MP3 players or
iPods at work while 48% of Generation Y listen to the music devices.

As this trend continues there were several other trends that are likely to develop
without proper preplanning:

1. Safety issues. Employers will need to be careful with these listening devices do
not distract employees from other important background sounds such as fire alarms,
ringing telephone, calls for help from other employees, or other workplace "hearing"
needs. Those companies that already have an ADA compliant workplace for the hearing
impaired will have an advantage on this trend.

2. Customer service issues. Baby Boomers are still moving markets. They are more
likely to resent any business with employees using earpieces. An etiquette will
properly develop much like email etiquette developed in the early days of the
Internet. When it does, Generations X and Y will adopt it quickly.

MBC, the cultural empowerment organization based near Detroit, Michigan, has
identified this as a key generational culture issue for 2007. The organization feels
the best practice for resolving this potential safety and customer service issue is
a two-pronged approach. First, employees must understand both issues from a
generational standpoint. A Generation Xer needs to understand that when servicing
another Generation Xer the headphone is likely to not even be an issue. However if
the customer is from the Builder Generation, the customer may leave the
establishment never to return again.

A second key to resolving the safety and customer service issues is in management
training. Managers need to understand how different generations will react
differently to requests by management to do away with the headphones entirely or to
use them in a customer sensitive and safe environment. It is important to develop a
policy that understands the motivations and thought processes of each generation if
a headphone policy is to be successfully deployed to all employees.

For more information concerning these best practices, refer to the MBC website:
www.mbcglobal.org.

About Multicultural Business Council
Multicultural Business Council is a membership organization based near Detroit,
Michigan. Its purpose is to connect cultures through commerce. MBC offers
certification programs, events, cultural trips, and other venues to increase
awareness and appreciation of the multiple cultures flavoring the world. For more
information about the Multicultural Business Council, send an email to
rick@mbcglobal.org or visit www.mbcglobal.org.


Web Site = http://www.mbcglobal.org

Contact Details = Rick Weaver||1720 Northumberland Drive, Suite 202||Rochester Hills
, 48309||$$country||||248-802-6138||rick@mbcglobal.org||http://www.mbcglobal.org