[hammock]

If you wouldn't act that way with a high-level executive why act that way with your coworkers- do you respect them less?

It's as easy as saying "Do you mind if I take notes on my laptop while you answer your question" if you really have to.

[Isamu]

Again, depends on the workplace. And the meeting context.

I walked into a meeting today and said “some people think it is disrespectful to have your laptop open during a meeting” and everyone laughed. And it was a diverse group, men and women, a wide age range, from different parts of the world. People are professional, respectful and notably productive in that meeting. With laptops.

Regarding a high-level executive, it’s just that those kinds of meetings are not engineering meetings.