Personal tech is making U.S. offices less polite places: Survey

Smartphones and tablets are making America's offices ruder places to work, according to a new survey.

Sixty-four percent of chief information officers at companies with more than 100 people said phones and tablets have led to an increase in workplace etiquette breaches, up 13% from 2010, according to the survey, from Robert Half Technology.

"As mobile devices have become increasingly integrated into the workplace, they've helped us become more productive, but they also can serve as a round-the-clock distraction," said John Reed, senior executive director of RHT.

"If you're not fully engaged in a conversation or meeting, you may spend more time replying to emails than listening," he said.

RHT named four pervasive breaches of workplace etiquette that people should avoid for a more cordial workplace: surfing the Web while having a conversation with someone, leaving overly long voicemails, using the wrong form of communication, and extreme multitasking.

The survey was based some 2,300 phone interviews with CIOs in 23 major metro areas.