Companies go 'topless' at meetings

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31 (UPI) -- Distractions from laptops and other devices are causing many San Francisco companies to say they are going "topless" -- no electronic devices at meetings.

Many companies are banning electronics during meetings after getting increasing complaints of sidetracked workers slowing down productivity, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

"Laptops, Blackberries, Sidekicks, iPhones and the like keep people from being fully present. Aside from just being rude, partial attention generally leads to partial results," said Todd Wilkens of Adaptive Path, a San Francisco design firm

Wilkens said since his company has banned laptops from meetings they have been "a lot more productive."

Some companies argue that meetings in general are simply unproductive and should be tossed out altogether.

"No laptop meetings make sense. No meetings make even more sense," said Joe Lazarus, former director of marketing for Yahoo.