Boeing to ban headphones on factory floor; Machinists call it morale killer

A little music can be a good way to keep the mind occupied during a job with a lot of repetitive motion.

A desk job. Landscaping. Even putting together the world’s most technically-advanced airplane can get monotonous.

Many Boeing employees like to listen to music as they work, but the company is about to take that privilege away.

No more headphones. No more ear buds.

Boeing is introducing new safety measures this month that prevent workers from listening to their personal devices with something in their ear.

“Listening to music using ear buds or headphones is not allowed when walking or working in operations, production and transportation areas,” the company’s Katie Zemtseff said. “It’s not just the factory floor. It also includes parking lots across the enterprise and all transportation areas.”

There will also be changes to cell phone use. Any work-related cell phone calls will need to be hands free or the person must stop and stand in place to take the call.

For personal calls, Boeing employees must go to a designated area to take them, unless it’s an emergency.

Zemtseff said it’s all to promote safety. “We are making this change to strengthen and standardize workplace safety practices across the company.”

Employees will still be able to listen to radios or stereos while they work but only without headphones. The company said it needs employees to be aware of what’s going on around them.

“It’s about situational awareness,” Zemtseff said. “When you’re listening to headphones, you can sometimes miss things that are said around you. It’s really about removing that distraction so people are more aware of what’s happening around them.”

And this is not the only change. “We’re also working on safety glasses and enhanced eye protection,” she said.

But many employees are not happy with these changes. They say losing their headphones is a morale killer at a time when morale, especially on the factory floor, is already at an all-time low after the 777X contract experience.

Many say it’s affecting their job performance and the quality of their work.

There is such a concern from the union Machinists that they are looking at how this can be challenged. This change was not bargained over, but Boeing did discuss it with each of its unions before making it.