Financial IT - policy here forbids wearing headphones or earphones during normal in-office working hours. Their line is: you are here to collaborate, otherwis

Financial IT - policy here forbids wearing headphones or earphones during normal in-office working hours. Their line is: you are here to collaborate, otherwise why bring people together in the first place? I do agree with that to an extent. I've worked in offices where *phones were common and the users always seemed to be snarky when I tried to interact; particularly those who put them on as soon as they arrived and didn't take them off until home-time. It doesn't just impair work collaboration, it also degrades the social atmosphere in the office.