Mobile phone use in the workplace
Discussion
andy-xr said:
heebeegeetee said:
andy-xr said:
You're asking why people need a mobile phone I think?
Not at all. I'm simply curious as to why the need to communicate during work hours arose only after the mobile phone was produced, such that it now has to be used during working time.Given that most people have at least 3 breaks a day, and given that life is much the same now as in what, 1995, what 'need' suddenly arose after then?
Wow, my office is quite relaxed on mobile phones compared to some of you. As long as its on silent, and doesnt interfere with your work its fine. The odd text/email is allowed, although any phonecalls should be taken outside, although thats mainly an unwritten rule to avoid pissing people off.
Mine is sitting on my desk right now, as is most other peoples. Same with headphones, their allowed, as long as you can hear your desk phone, dont have it so loud that other people can hear, dont tut and whinge when someone comes over to talk to you and you have to press pause etc...
One of our managers is I think having a quick flick through facebook right now, but she's probably done more than enough work already today, so no one really minds.
Excessive use is frowned upon, but in an informal way. I've had the odd informal chat about forum use and ebay, which I took with good grace and toned it down (I'm on lunch atm, hence why I'm posting)
Mine is sitting on my desk right now, as is most other peoples. Same with headphones, their allowed, as long as you can hear your desk phone, dont have it so loud that other people can hear, dont tut and whinge when someone comes over to talk to you and you have to press pause etc...
One of our managers is I think having a quick flick through facebook right now, but she's probably done more than enough work already today, so no one really minds.
Excessive use is frowned upon, but in an informal way. I've had the odd informal chat about forum use and ebay, which I took with good grace and toned it down (I'm on lunch atm, hence why I'm posting)
WinstonWolf said:
There is no *need* to be contactable via a personal mobile during working hours, they just allow non-urgent detritus to interfere with the working day. Genuine emergencies can be dealt with via the company phone number, it's a great way of filtering out unnecessary interruptions.
But there is a choice to be contactable via personal mobile if someone chooses to a) allow it and b) not go nuts about people doing itIf you want drones who dont think just do then this kind of management, looking out for and stopping any non urgent detritus, having a company 'BANNNED' phones policy, people who like to think a bit outside the box, or people who just want to go in, do their thing and go home again wont work for companies like that. It's such a tiny thing in isolation but it's part of a larger style of management that went out of fashion with Amex and Zippos.
It might be fine in like, a factory line or where you've got a few desks of telesales callers banging out cold calls all day but for the average junior to senior desk flyer, they want to have some slack and tend to repay it in spades.
Like now, for example. I'm posting, and was earlier while I'm working. But last night I was up at 11pm sorting out an order with a company in New Zealand. I could have left it til this morning, but there's a time zone difference that's quite large. My company is decent with me, and I'm decent with them
andy-xr said:
It might be fine in like, a factory line or where you've got a few desks of telesales callers banging out cold calls all day but for the average junior to senior desk flyer, they want to have some slack and tend to repay it in spades.
Like now, for example. I'm posting, and was earlier while I'm working. But last night I was up at 11pm sorting out an order with a company in New Zealand. I could have left it til this morning, but there's a time zone difference that's quite large. My company is decent with me, and I'm decent with them
Exactly. I've been in the same situation.Like now, for example. I'm posting, and was earlier while I'm working. But last night I was up at 11pm sorting out an order with a company in New Zealand. I could have left it til this morning, but there's a time zone difference that's quite large. My company is decent with me, and I'm decent with them
Any company, IMO, that imposes phone bans, essential workwear (ties, etc), get pissy about 30seconds late can only expect the bare minimum from their staff.
I can use my phone within reason as much as I like, I would feel like I was being treated like a total child if I worked at some of the places mentioned here. I have it playing sport next to my laptop, make personal calls, thought that was pretty standard unless you were the lowest of the low or in a place where security could be compromised by having a phone in there
Where I work, if you take a call on the factory floor, you walk away from the job.
If I get a non-work call in my office, I will walk away fom my desk to answer it, or tell them I will call back later, or just hit "reject" if I'm busy.
We have no hard rules, but people have been ticked off for excessive phone use (taking the piss, basically), and facebook et al are blocked on the wifi.
If I get a non-work call in my office, I will walk away fom my desk to answer it, or tell them I will call back later, or just hit "reject" if I'm busy.
We have no hard rules, but people have been ticked off for excessive phone use (taking the piss, basically), and facebook et al are blocked on the wifi.
AW111 said:
We have no hard rules, but people have been ticked off for excessive phone use (taking the piss, basically), and facebook et al are blocked on the wifi.
Our place put wifi in for us - so we could use FB. Although you can use it on your works PC anyway.Strangely nobody at work actually rings me up on my desk phone ever - they ring me on my mobile, I assume because they think I'll be in the office abroad.
But most of the places ^^^ above seem to treat responsible professional staff like kids.
Ghost91 said:
Personally I wouldn't entertain working somewhere that banned mobile phones, unless it was for confidentiality or health and safety reasons. Being allowed to use your phone, providing you don't take the piss, makes working somewhere a lot nicer. It's motivating to staff if they work in a nice environment, and by and large, everywhere I've worked has had a happy productive workforce who appreciate that they aren't controlled in this way so don't abuse it.
+1 x a million. If people are allowed to use them I've found nobody uses them excessively and appreciate the fact they are trusted with it, to be able to send a text now and again for instance when trying to arrange a night out at short notice helps massively with making a happier worker IME. Edited by Ghost91 on Thursday 24th September 20:27
heebeegeetee said:
WinstonWolf said:
People are confusing need and want.
I agree. The 'need' seems to be more of a need to piss about when at work, imo.I could say I want it for emergency contact, but TBH the one time my wife was hospitalised while I was at work, I had left my phone at home!
heebeegeetee said:
WinstonWolf said:
People are confusing need and want.
I agree. The 'need' seems to be more of a need to piss about when at work, imo.Motivated people will work hard, and they're an asset to a company. If you 'BAN"!' certain things it diminishes the motivation, because as a worker you come in and feel you've got to adhere to a load of basically bulls
t rules enforced by micro management. So you just do your job.It might be that's what you want, people to just do the actions and specifications laid out in their job description. Many people want to and can give more.
There are some who'll take the piss. Ideally these are found out at interview, because for what most companies want 90% of staff for, anyone applying can do that job blindfolded with one arm behind their back. It's then a cultural thing
No-one minds if someone's on Facebook, Twitter or generally having a bit of a browse of their phone. Some companies encourage it;
Companies who fail to get to grips with what employees 'want' or 'need' will generally find themselves pissed off at lower output and pissed about by the detritus that'll accept a job working in those conditions while they look for something more suitable. Better people go elsewhere, where they're treated well.
Edited by andy-xr on Tuesday 29th September 16:03
andy-xr said:
working in those conditions
"Those conditions"?Asking staff to do Facebook at break time is "those conditions"?
Christ on a bike.
I mean come on, on average what is the length of working time between breaks? 2 hours?
Are we seriously saying that it's a lot to ask for people to leave their devices alone for 2 hours? Is that the stage we're now at?
I think the OPs need to have people not use their phones is fair. Working in machines etc, I use to go sometimes work in an environment like that, they had special phone lockers before we went into the lab, you popped your phone in there and took a key. I think it's having staff that respect the decision not to have phones on the work place is also important. Failing that, turn your lab/office/workshop in a faradays cage 
As for office workers, employing professionals - if people on facebook is a big problem then it's not the phones that are to blame...
As for office workers, employing professionals - if people on facebook is a big problem then it's not the phones that are to blame...
I work in an office where mobile phones are prohibited. We leave them in lockers in the hallway and there are mobile phone detectors throughout the office. If anyone needs to contact me for personal reasons then they call my desk phone or email me. I check my phone maybe once a day to see if I have had any texts or personal emails but in general I forget about it totally. I don't have any issues with this set-up, anybody who needs to get me will know my desk number or can go through the switchboard. I don't really know the impact on productivity but i would say that this does remove what for some is probably a major distraction.
heebeegeetee said:
"Those conditions"?
Asking staff to do Facebook at break time is "those conditions"?
Christ on a bike.
I mean come on, on average what is the length of working time between breaks? 2 hours?
Are we seriously saying that it's a lot to ask for people to leave their devices alone for 2 hours? Is that the stage we're now at?
I'm coming at it from an office worker mentality rather than a factory worker/production line. I think if you want someone to sit and work for 2 hours straight, soon as the 2 hours are up they're off to do their own thing. If you let people have more freedom they may well do 5 hours of work before thinking 'need to text my mate back' because they're not as likely to be clockwatching for their 'break' (whoever has those anyway?) Asking staff to do Facebook at break time is "those conditions"?
Christ on a bike.
I mean come on, on average what is the length of working time between breaks? 2 hours?
Are we seriously saying that it's a lot to ask for people to leave their devices alone for 2 hours? Is that the stage we're now at?
At my previous place of work, only the management team were supposed to have their mobiles on them at all time, obviously if you were busy with a customer then you didn't answer it. Staff tended to have their phones on them and we only clamped down on it if someone was taking the mick.
In my new job we all have our phones on us as we don't have radios, so all have each other's numbers and the supervisor phone number in them, also if a member of staff doesn't have their phone with them they will take one of the office mobiles with them. It's hard to be surfing facebook while walking up and down the street with a handheld conputer in your hands and you are working, also, the bodycams can sometimes pick up the phone in view. To be honest, we get enough grief on the street without risking getting our phones nicked off us.
In my new job we all have our phones on us as we don't have radios, so all have each other's numbers and the supervisor phone number in them, also if a member of staff doesn't have their phone with them they will take one of the office mobiles with them. It's hard to be surfing facebook while walking up and down the street with a handheld conputer in your hands and you are working, also, the bodycams can sometimes pick up the phone in view. To be honest, we get enough grief on the street without risking getting our phones nicked off us.
speedchick said:
At my previous place of work, only the management team were supposed to have their mobiles on them at all time, obviously if you were busy with a customer then you didn't answer it. Staff tended to have their phones on them and we only clamped down on it if someone was taking the mick.
In my new job we all have our phones on us as we don't have radios, so all have each other's numbers and the supervisor phone number in them, also if a member of staff doesn't have their phone with them they will take one of the office mobiles with them. It's hard to be surfing facebook while walking up and down the street with a handheld conputer in your hands and you are working, also, the bodycams can sometimes pick up the phone in view. To be honest, we get enough grief on the street without risking getting our phones nicked off us.
You're a traffic warden?!?!?!In my new job we all have our phones on us as we don't have radios, so all have each other's numbers and the supervisor phone number in them, also if a member of staff doesn't have their phone with them they will take one of the office mobiles with them. It's hard to be surfing facebook while walking up and down the street with a handheld conputer in your hands and you are working, also, the bodycams can sometimes pick up the phone in view. To be honest, we get enough grief on the street without risking getting our phones nicked off us.
StuTheGrouch said:
speedchick said:
At my previous place of work, only the management team were supposed to have their mobiles on them at all time, obviously if you were busy with a customer then you didn't answer it. Staff tended to have their phones on them and we only clamped down on it if someone was taking the mick.
In my new job we all have our phones on us as we don't have radios, so all have each other's numbers and the supervisor phone number in them, also if a member of staff doesn't have their phone with them they will take one of the office mobiles with them. It's hard to be surfing facebook while walking up and down the street with a handheld conputer in your hands and you are working, also, the bodycams can sometimes pick up the phone in view. To be honest, we get enough grief on the street without risking getting our phones nicked off us.
You're a traffic warden?!?!?!In my new job we all have our phones on us as we don't have radios, so all have each other's numbers and the supervisor phone number in them, also if a member of staff doesn't have their phone with them they will take one of the office mobiles with them. It's hard to be surfing facebook while walking up and down the street with a handheld conputer in your hands and you are working, also, the bodycams can sometimes pick up the phone in view. To be honest, we get enough grief on the street without risking getting our phones nicked off us.
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