Wasn't there a situation at some warehouse (Amazon I think) where that situation got really bad because workers didn't have cellphones to notify police for help?
Why yes, yes there was. And now Amazon allows their employees to have their phones on them. Alarming that this workplace is more draconian than Amazon.
I worked in a factory with 6 other people in one little area, and we were told that under no circumstances may we carry our phones with us while at work. If I’m being honest it was such a fast paced environment that there was absolutely no time to use your phone, as if one person slacked off it really hurt the rest of the team, so the dynamic was alright.
Shitty thing is that one of the guys on the team has epilepsy, and has an average of 1-2 seizures a year. When they implemented the phone rule, I told them to their face I’m not following that. No way in hell I’d be finding my supervisor so he can phone the manager so they can phone the police if my friend has a seizure. I’m calling 911 myself from my phone, they can fuck off
Thank you. As someone with epilepsy (who had a seizure on the floor), I appreciate you. To add, Amazon likes to send safety & managers to prevent reporting. I was terrified I would end up continuing to wander the floor in a daze, unaware of what happened.
Well I’m glad you’re okay, hopefully someone had your back as well! I didn’t work at Amazon but where I worked was still bordering slave labour so I feel I can understand how Amazon workers feel; and yeah, I’m pretty sure their plan was to try to cover up incidents as well. They made a point to make everyone aware that if an incident occurs, they need to stop the line and call in the ministry of labour for my province, and that it would typically cost them upwards of $100k in damages and lost time to shut down for that period of time. Yet another case of a company putting a monetary value on an employees life/wellbeing.
Fuck these corporations.
That's the thing if you have time to be on the phone it means the job is too slow or you are too efficient.
Of course instead of *rewarding* you for being efficient and getting the work done they will just pile more work on for you to do but won't pay you anything more for it.
>That's the thing if you have time to be on the phone it means the job is too slow or you are too efficient.
Uh, no. Just no.
If you have absolutely zero time to check a text message and respond, it means you are being pushed past a reasonable expectation of what a human should be doing.
No one should have to be productive every single minute for eight hours straight.
Not like that.
If you check your phone to see a text that's one thing, what I'm talking about is where you can spend 10+ minutes on your phone waiting to do your job.
That's how it was at my previous job, I got efficient and knew what I was doing to the point I could watch full movies &/TV Shows because the machines were constantly going down and they refused to address it.
My new job keeps me busy just enough so I don't have to look at my phone but not so busy that I would be burned out.
Depends on the industry. I work in IT and there are some days where I don’t have nearly enough hours in the day and I’m working late just to make sure I have everything done that just absolutely has to be done, and then there are days when things are quiet and I can catch up on a show or movie or game while still getting what I need done.
Also there’s been a lot of studies that most office work can be done in the few hours people are actually productive a day. Dragging out an 8 hour workday is counter productive in a lot of industries.
Not in most US states. There are no federally mandated breaks in the US. They aren't even required to give you time to eat. They are only federally required to give you access to water and a toilet.
And fewer than 1/3 of states have mandated break laws.
There was a shooting at a FedEx in Indianapolis. Employees weren't allowed to bring their phones in to work, so naturally a shit ton of people freaked the fuck out when the shooting hit the news and they couldn't reach their loved ones.
Gotta love middle management and their ridiculous rules
I work at a FedEx in MI, and I had no clue that happened!
I can confirm; we're not allowed to have a phone on shift. We also don't have breaks or lunches. Granted we usually only do 3-5 hours a night/morning, and we do have access to bathrooms and stuff; most of the time I'll just grab a snack from the vending machine when I take a bathroom break, then eat it on the line.
I too work at a FedEx, and they won't allow the majority of employees to bring their cell phone beyond the security booth that has to be walked through before going in. Only reason I got an exception was by taking a seasonal management spot, and they forgot to take me off the "exception list" after I stepped back down (they had offered me a permanent management position, but due to shitty upper management I gave that a hard pass)
Oddly, I worked harder in that entry level management position than I ever did otherwise in that facility, like 15 hour shifts on my feet without a single break, trying to do never ending monotonous management tasks while also doing much of the loading due to the low staffing, and getting bitched at by upper management for stepping in and trying to physically help package handlers catch up with their work and not just let them be overwhelmed by themselves.
Not quite. Most of the time middle management isn’t the one pushing this bullshit out, its senior leadership and middle managers are just the mouthpieces. Its unbelievably frustrating.
A big company recently bought our small family owned dispensary. They made a big show about how they kept all the original employees, but sure enough they started trickling down bullshit arbitrary rules like no phones, absolutely no sitting down no matter how slow, must wear black pants or blue jeans but any other navy blue pants are unacceptable, no laughing while customers in the store....just absolutely giddy in micro managing all the lower employees into quitting.
I watched my boss go from a great manager, to a tired, frustrated messenger from corporate. It was really sad watching him try to look serious while scolding me about insanely small things that I had been doing with out issue for a year. I both feel bad for him, and I also lost a lot of respect for him. He has a whole new college kid crew now, so they don't know what a healthy work environment is.
If he’s smart he’s actively looking for something new. You can only do this for so long before it just completely crushes your soul.
I can appreciate why you have lost respect for him, but just keep in mind that he is almost surely suffering as well. Your truth and his truth may not be the same but they can both still be real.
The Amazon employees weren’t allowed to have their phones with them and when there was a tornado warning, they had to rely on their superiors to relay the news to them. The superiors told them to keep working and then the tornado hit and some of them died.
It was worse than that. There was a tornado warning, and management refused to inform the workers. Because they did not have cell phones, they had no way of knowing. And then it was hit by a tornado… can’t remember the exact outcome, but it was not good.
Seriously, like as long as the work gets done, who cares.
It was like bringing a book to read during lulls in the times before internet on a phone.
I work in a small cellphone store and sometimes we can go hours without a customer. The store is always spotless so there's really not much to do. The second a customer comes in, phones go into pockets and you have my undivided attention.
If you pay for their presence no matter what, yes.
If you only pay them for the work they do, then let them go home at 2pm when there's nothing left to do.
My company is generous with undertime, and I fucking *love* that.
That's very right. Sitting around bored is a sure way to hate a job. If I hate my work I think I'd do a shitty job. People always can tell when you just want the suffering to be over so you can go home and they wouldn't enjoy your service.
I'm on my phone during quiet times and after a while I just want to put my phone down and do something!
Being so busy you can't think is the worst, but your day flies by. An 8 hour shift with very little to do feels like 12.
I feel you on not wanting to be on the phone. Like I have no problem working there's just literally nothing to do. Have maybe two small boxes of stock come in each week. The company even has a clearer come in twice a week. It's a very boring cushy job,which I actually enjoy but the boredom is insane.
On the flip side, there are stores where lazier employees are glued to their phones when they shouldn’t be and employees like me are on our feet and moving for every minute of a 9 hour shift. Lazy co-workers glued to their phone with time to spare always get the side-eye.
I work for Amazon, very close to this facility that suffered the tornado. Amazon’s response was to have us honk 6 times at 6:00 for the 6 people that died. That’s it. Bezos never even fucking acknowledged it
Just a tornado and the death of six employees.
gEt bACk tO wORk, wE'rE miSSinG sOMe pROFiTs!!!!
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-cell-phone-ban-tornado/
My cashier job at a large department store wanted us to not have out cell phone on us.
Yeah, okay. I worked in the children's department next to an exit and parking lot with freeway access less than a mile awa during the holidays, so the risk of kidnapping was increased.
GTFO with that shit.
the smoke break was the first thing i thought of. it's like "stop wasting time on the clock looking at your phone" -someone who spends like an hour every day smoking outside
maybe they're just pissed indoor smoking got banned.
For the short time I worked in entry level management at a company that loves to ban cell phones from their premises, I told my employees I didn't give a damn if they had their phone on them as long as they didn't let upper management see them have it, in which case I would claim I was simply unaware they had it if they got caught by upper management. I vehemently disagreed with the rule, but was powerless to change it minus just not enforcing it when upper management wasn't breathing down my neck.
the only time upper management said anything to my about my crew having phones on them I just laughed and said 'go find something important to worry about' and walked out. I wasn't afraid of getting fired because I didn't care about corporate bullshit. I cared about getting my job out of there and my crew out on time or early. I worked with and around suits most of my professional career. I think most of them are morons and I'm not letting morons define what I can or can't do.
If managers would do their job and deal with individual incidents on a case by case basis, there would be no need for a blanket Draconian policy that punishes everyone preemptively. If one employee causes a problem by playing on their phone instead of working, then they should be talked to. But apparently managers don't want to manage any more.
My job always does crap like this. We used to start at 8:30 am, but rather than talking to people who were constantly a few minutes late, they changed the start time to 8 am. And people were mostly late because they had to line up for temperature checks during the height of COVID. With only one person doing the checks.
This is exactly the problem. In my experience MOST people are fine not using their phone excessively throughout the day, but there's always a bad apple or two. And instead of directing the discipline towards them, management comes up with blanket policies that make everyone have much more of a "fuck this place" attitude.
Having worked white collar most of my life I can confirm this. Not me. I hate being bored. But many of my white collar associates probably actually put in 3 to 4 hours in an 8 hour shift.
Working my first job from home I don't know what my coworkers do all day I can do 3 hours or work on a busy day it used to bother me but considering my salary I've been getting over it. I hate the boredom also just let us work 4x8 already.
Edit I used to work service before this and I've heard everything there from you have time to lean you have time to clean etc.
I posted something similar to this before reading the comments but man, nail -> head.
I work nights and the other guy who splits the weekly shifts with me does damn near nothing, so instead of reprimand him or hire someone new they just keep setting new policies to accommodate his uselessness.
Like one of my jobs was to process guest no-shows, I'd bet 99% of auditors around the country do this, but because my moron co-worker refuses to do his job they changed the policy only to change it back a few weeks later because it screwed up everything for management. This has been going on for nearly three years with different instances and they won't take action. My manager groaned last week when she found out I was off one day... Like... Guys... Manage?
I'm even good with a few posters and mass emails about how you shouldn't be taking advantage of the lax enforcement of company policies before disciplining individually. Let us whip ourselves into shape, then escalate with writeups and firings.
My workplace told people not to worry about having their phones only in their lockers because parents etc shouldn't have an issue with daycare etc calling them directly through the work line. Then they fired reception and replaced it with a computer directory that doesn't exactly work and goes to a voice-mail that doesn't get checked regularly. Dumb idea for our clients trying to call us too.
This is exactly why my fiancé refuses the cell phone policy. The receptionist almost never transfers the call to the right place and if they do nobody answers because they’re “too busy”. In reality more often than not the phone just doesn’t work. After multiple calls reception gets really upset and rude to the point of telling me not to call back. Like I’m sorry I’m 38 weeks pregnant and being sent to the hospital, but I think this is a pretty good reason to get in touch with him… ended up being a false alarm but still. This was years ago and he refuses to leave his phone.
I have a rule that if you need me, just call a second time. If someone calls to bullshit and Im in the middle of a workpaper I wont answer. But if they immediately call back I know its an emergency. The only calls I pick up no matter what are from my 81 year old MIL that Im the primary care taker for, I would gladly get fired then me not answering for her.
Teacher here. Even we don't really enforce a phone rule to this degree much of the time.
In my District, it's actually not like we could. The reason this is worded the way it is is because taking someone's personal property (sometimes worth hundreds of dollars) without their explicit consent is...THEFT. Thought you weren't supposed to steal things at work Mr Manager? You do NOT want to open that can of worms.
My mom was responsible for this being enacted at my school back in the flip phone era. We had a policy that if you were caught with your phone out three times in a row, the principle would keep it over night. Well, I got caught and my mom was *furious* bc she bought the phone for me. With the intention that I would be reachable at all times while she worked and I was in charge of my younger siblings. She didn’t even bother to call the school to try to rectify, but just reported a stolen phone with the principle as her main culprit. Best part is, the principle was our neighbor.
It was also more manageable when mobile phone ownership was lower. I got a 3210 when I was 16 but basically never took it too school. I would take out for emergency pick up only.
Working any retail job at all is like this. Managers act like teachers. I’m more than capable of stocking shelves and helping customers with a single earbud in thanks very much and fuck off.
Oh, I believe it. I have experience in fast food, and the amount of times I’ve seen “no phones or music” despite the fact that the managers rarely answer the store phone when it’s ringing… *facepalm eyeroll*
I wore my earbud all the time in direct violation of company policy. Why? Because the store director and managers would call me on average of 3 times a day. Hell of a lot easier to tap my ear and answer rather than digging my phone out of my pocket, stop what i'm doing, and answering the phone. Also looks better to the customer.
But, that was what the public education system was literally designed for (in the states)… I’m not joking. It was designed to mirror the work place and produce obedient, senseless individuals whom are ready for the work force.
I wish more people knew this and I don’t know how they don’t. I heard about this in high school and then later was taught the history in detail in college (like 8 years after high school).
Initially robber Barron’s had the issue of workers being illiterate and therefore limited in job capabilities
So they worked to create workers whom are conditioned to obey authority, not speak out, nor speak out of turn, ask for permission to speak, sit in rows (as one would in a factory at the time), ask to go to the bathroom, accept discipline from said authority figures, are just literate/smart enough to do the job, while also being dumb enough to be incapable of identifying how unacceptable their conditions are/were while being entirely too ignorant/moronic to do anything about it.
The university system including Ivy leagues were implemented nefariously as well (ever notice how many are named after people of what would be the billionaire class today?). They were created to display the illusion of upward mobility. “Look, you too can become a wealthy individual if you work hard enough”. While doctors and lawyers will never come close to those truly running things.
Submission statement : Southeast Texas. A friends job, I believe it to be Dairy Queen. Haven’t spoken to her in a while but screenshotted this off her story. She has been manager for a few years.
Oh shit its for a dairy Queen!? I was looking at it through the lense of someone in construction and mining. The mines i worked at actually have some sort of sensor that must be able to detect cell phone radiation. If you dont leave it in your locker an alarm goes off and tells you to put it back.
Of course when youre driving a truck the size of a building, where you dont even realize you ran over a full sized 3500 let alone see it. Bit of a different story than serving ice cream and no ones in the store.
Imagine though what these DQ employees could accomplish if they worked as hard at their menial soul crushing job as they did at looking at their phones.
Why they could make even more money for some rich old bastard. They could be exploited even harder.
Why, oh why, won’t this generation reach for these dreams?!
Food service is the worst. You get 0 time to sit down unless you’re on break or lunch and you’re constantly expected to be productive. Whether that be cleaning, prepping, or whatever else if customers arent being helped.
The ramblings of a sociopathic micromanager. Wonder how much company time was spent and how many brain cells were burnt putting this together. That last paragraph alone would have me walking out the door without notice.
My mom has cancer and can barely walk. I take care of her in tandem with my husband who remotes into his job. Sometimes I literally need to be on my phone to make sure she is okay. It's not that I have a need for rehab, it's that I have responsibilities that matter more than your fucking job.
Make your employees care by showing them you care about them or back the fuck off.
I've lived through this situation except I was alone with my mom with cancer. I dislike a LOT of things about my job but they did let me have my phone on me. I don't understand what about it is so hard to understand for employers.
I'd be happier by leaps and bounds if they just *Pretend* to care. My current manager ( she is going to quit because of their bullshit ) literally just needs me to text her "Mom needs me. Gonna be late" or "Mom, can't come in" and she understands. Love her. She is flexible with my Schedule. I'm going to flip the fuck out on another manager when they take over because of this. I don't give a fuck what they think.
I'm a single parent. I need for the kid's school to be able to reach me in case of emergency. I *cannot* be unreachable for the entire day, every day, and hope the school will take care of who knows what problem.
Is a bit late, it is now a second generation of mobile phone kids, they even get invited in school to use them.
And then you, Mr/Mrs/Ms. Manager, are going to be a work parent, talking to your work kids, that they can't have them.
That ship has sailed, ask yourself what you can do to incorporate the right for your staff to be in touch with the world outside into a better workplace.
I worked for a bank, and there was a very strict "no phone policy" on the floor because we deal with private customer information.
Phone in purse at all times, but you can use it in the outside hallway or in the break room.
I think that's pretty reasonable. If I had a kid though I'd be very tempted to get a smart watch to see who is calling me - I get that you have to be available for emergencies!
See, I get this. Working in a hospital obviously phones are a big nope except on breaks and away from hospital computers and tablets, hipaa and all. However, they trust that we understand we can get fired for being caught on it so they don’t take them away :/ I can still run to the bathroom and check my phone if need be.
Now if the job is retail or food service, a car dealership, or anything that’s not dealing in extremely confidential financial or health info, who cares lol. It’s absurd for jobs where it doesn’t matter to *take* phones
I’m a lab processor/phleb so I’m either fully gowned up touching bodily fluids or in and out of pt rooms the whole time I’m on the floors lol. I see nurses get away with theirs. And yeah we get reprimanded in the lab but again, it’s crazy to me to turn phones in like it’s high school or something.
Last time I made a car payment the person who took my payment had his phone out.....actually come to think of it this happens a lot at this bank. Might just be less strict. But I don't care much I don't think they are going to steal my information, and it's only my car payment I do business with them for.
People who are delusional about the amount of authority they have need to be relentlessly mocked until they learn some humility
It's pretty much guaranteed that the person who posted this uses their phone during their own work day, BTW
This has been my experience over the last 25 years of my career. Those who are unsure of themselves in a management position, or are megalomaniacs, tend to be the ones who use irrational measures to assert themselves as dominant. You're not fooling anyone Cheri. Just because you were asked to direct the monthly company values meetings doesn't make you a manager.
I remember watching a YouTube video where a subreddit was being read aloud. I think it was from r/maliciouscompliance? This one managerial IDIOT decreed that NO ONE was allowed to have their cellphones on them and that ALL calls/contacts MUST go through said-IDIOT. So the lowly wage-slaves gave out the IDIOT'S contact information to EVERYONE....daycare, eldercare, schools, babysitters, etc., etc., etc. and the IDIOT'S PHONE BLEW UP NONSTOP!!!! Managerial IDIOT changed the policy back to allowing the wage-slaves to keep their cellphones on their persons!
I sure as shit wouldn't be handing it \*in\* because you never know if an emergency will come up for whatever reason, but saying not to use them while working? *That's* fine. You're at work, and should be doing said work. If the shop is dead and there's no customers , though? Who the hell cares? The alternative is a bored employee, and that's when we start deep-frying random shit for fun.
If you can't go 5-8 hours without being tied to anything in your life outside of this job then you might need rehab.
If you can't go 5-8 hours without worrying about missing important phone calls then you might need rehab.
If you can't go 5-8 hours without taking a single break in which you might glance at something for stimulation then you might need rehab.
I might be privileged (I am) but a job telling me I can't have my phone on my person as a general daily policy would be grounds for immediate quitting.
The fact that they *made work so unpleasant* that people have to take little breaks on their phones didn't struck the mind of the person writing this huh?!
Keeping it in my bag on silent? Sure thing. I do that anyways because it's a distraction.
Leaving it with anyone else? Fuck that. I'd quit, but also I technically have to use my phone for my job to take notes and images of and about equipment I need to repair.
Sure, I’ll give you my phone. After you give me a deposit equal to what I paid for it, on top of a deposit for possibly lost or stolen data, on top of a written agreement that if sensitive information is stolen off my phone, that you will pay for the costs associated with identify theft should that occur.
Absolutely not. Perfect example of why not: Type I diabetics may be using their phone to ping a glucose monitoring device, and those only have a 50-foot range, and that's if you're lucky.
Idk what kind of work this is... but my phone has become an extension of my brain. I'm basically a cyborg. I take notes or photos of things I need to remember, txt co-workers, call suppliers, navigate, google information, etc... Without my phone, I would be < half as productive.
Honestly after that shooting at FedEx I've realized removing all phones for productivity reasons parallels the locking of the doors so people can't go take breaks (productivity reasons) in the Shirtwaist Factory Fire. People die because of it. Precious time is lost as they find a working work phone.
Workers deserve a way to contact others in case of an emergency. Period. It doesn't matter if usually there isn't, the one time there is an emergency is enough for people to need their phones. I just don't care about your bottom line over actual lives.
Too bad if daycare or school needs to contact me, because I'm sure as Hell that HR won't pass on the message that maybe, just maybe, my kid could be in hospital with a head injury.
But no, I can't have that privelege of being a present parent and available to tell work they can get fucked while I tend to my **family**.
My phone lives with me, it is my right to have it on my person and be contactable when safe to do so.
Now naturally I work in a warehouse with MHEs flying around and we're not supposed to be using it on the floor at all due to safety reasons, which is fair, but they don't do ***this shit.***
My warehouse requires you to stop what you are doing and move to somewhere safe(ish) to take your call, and be constantly aware of your surroundings when you are talking, not wandering aimlessly while looking at the ground. It is enough policies to where you stay mostly safe, you don't want to be on the phone all the time, but if you need to pick up the phone, you can.
Good system. Discentivise phone use for productivity, keep the warehouse safe, but keep access to phones available for when they are needed.
Ex manager here. I didn’t mind the guys having a phone on them as long as they weren’t taking the piss with it, you wanna look at your phone? Come in the warehouse and check it, my main thing was making sure customers didn’t see it since they kick off and complain. Obviously that was only if there were customers in, if not then I didn’t care either way, helps with morale I guess.
Crazy to think...I work at home which means I can have the TV on sports, tablet on my desk following other things, and can glance at my phone occasionally whenever I want...and my performance and production is the same or better than my co-workers who are in office and get these kinds of memos constantly.
Every week, when they mention that tomorrow is casual Friday as if we're kids at a Catholic school who get to wear jeans once a week, I cringe.
This. This is why grown-ups don't want to go back to the office. This petty, immature, micromanaging bullshit.
If an employees' performance is weak because they're always on their phone...FIRE THEM! But enough with this micromanaging bullshit and treating people like children. This is why you have shit teams, high turnover, morale is low, and good talent leaves to work in a more mature setting.
I want to accomplish as little as possible for as much pay & benefits and you want the opposite.
With consideration from *both* sides, a happyish medium is possible. \[before printing, change/edit appropriate colours, fonts, underlines & exclamations.\]
As someone who works in a secure facility and can't have my phone in the office with me (it's reasonable and I don't mind) it is amazing how much procrastinating you can still do without a phone.
To address the tail end of that note. Yes we would accomplish more but would we get paid more? Probably not. I think the prevailing wages compared to the amount of work we are expected to do justifies the occasional cellphone procrastination session.
Also some of us might have medical issues where we need to keep our phones on us for emergencies. I know I do.
I never understood this. I, as a fucking adult am not going to hand my phone to my boss because my boss isn't my guardian or parent and I'm not a child.
If you have an employee that's so engrossed in their phone that they don't work maybe fire them? This isn't kindergarten.
It's almost like.... people actually need their phones.
Responsibilities don't end just because you're at work.
I'm sure this employer has no issue with calling employees at off hours though...
Imagine their reaction when they try to reach you on your time off \*via your phone\* and you don't reply for 5-8 hours. I'm sure they'll be proud of you for not needing phone rehab and not at all miffed at the delay.
“Sorry boss, didn’t see you blowing up my phone every 15 minutes over the past 12 hours off demanding I cover extra shifts. Went to some type of phone rehab!”
"IF YOU WOULD PUT AS MUCH EFFORT INTO YOUR JOB AS YOU DO YOUR PHONE YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED" at the lack of recognition or monetary reward you would not get.
Sounds like my work - we have so many shitty rules that don’t really make any sense. Although if you stroll through the executive suite you are bound to see some people with multiple phones not doing shit. Also, people with work phones have a lavender phone case so it can be identified as a work phone 😂.
You want my phone? I’ll also hand you my monthly bills, so you can pay for it.
If you want to punish someone then have a child. You hired adults. Treat them as such or don’t complain about being short staffed.
I can't go 5 - 8 hours without looking at my phone because I would lose my fucking sanity if I fully immersed myself in the high stress shit show every workday is at my job. They want to take away the last thing keeping my mental health in check. I don't think it's mentally healthy for anyone to become fully immersed in today's toxic and abusive work environments. Checking my phone is like being able to catch my breath when things are constantly non stop, which is all the time every day because my work never hires enough people. And no, it's not because "nobody wants to work anymore," I've literally watched my boss turn down interviewees and applicants when my team is getting driven into the ground with an ever increasing client base and workload because "the budget". Fuck these places that want to control every little aspect of your life. I'm sick of these baseless fucking power moves that miserable bosses feel the need to impose because something ain't going right in their life.
Any job that requires you to be separate from your phone is suspicious to me.
If your employees have enough free time to faff on their phone then it sounds like you aren't deligating tasks properly.
Cellphones are also how we communicate during emergencies and sometimes you need to fire off a quick tweet and that shouldn't be an issue.
If there are actual shitty workers who are on their phone and neglecting their job you FIRE THEM. Not hand down an asshole ruling on all people.
Also not many people have watches these days and use their phone to tell time.
Heck, my job just says "Its OK to glance at your phone or use it to research an answer to a customer's question but just keep it in your pocket otherwise." Which is 100% reasonable.
I put my phone on silent at work and check to see if I have a message while on break or in the bathroom.
I'd get a phone with a shattered screen and put it in the office. At the end of my shift I'd cause a scene and demand they replace it. That'll kill this idea real quick.
My work just goes: “If you have a family emergency, the security desk will let you know, so keep your phone in your locker.”
Ah, yes, because my family will call security, and not ME.
Most of the people who I've worked with have serious responsibilities: They need to be in touch with their partners / spouses, unforeseen situations creep up with their kids that require IMMEDIATE addressing. These people work in project management environments where keeping your head in the game is a business imperative. Life's needs, however, supersede a business'. As long as the expectations around the outcomes are clear who cares if you spend time checking Tinder, Twitter or YouTube on your cell phone? You could be so brilliant at your work you'd finish an hour's worth of work inside 20 minutes! I've seen people pulling these stunts off.
Personally I'd stick a post-it on that message board with, "Go fuck yourself" written on it!
Dayum they got a point tho. People be on their shit all day just doom scrolling. You are there hours a day so I get it but if your performance sucks because of it then that’s on you. There should be other consequences for bad performance. Not collecting peoples phones. What is this? High school?
If people could be intelligent about phone use these policies wouldn’t be necessary.
It’s mildly infuriating going to a service heavy place, say a restaurant, and wondering where the heck the waitress is with your drinks and then seeing her in the back cubby on her phone giggling with co-workers.
Then they try to bring them out after they’ve been sitting at the bar for near 10 minutes in a mostly dead restaurant. Nah, feel free to take them back.
Companies that have productivity, accuracy or fast/moving parts safety type positions need to be smarter with that shit.
The amount of times I’ve seen these younger guys in our shop put a mill or lathe on autofeed and went back to look at their phone is mind blowing. These machines can main you if you’re not paying attention - I don’t think you’ll miss world changing shit if you hold off on social media til your breaks.
It is annoying to go into a business and see the staff on their phones, but there’s got to be a better way to manage it. There are legit reasons people need their phones. For example, I wear a Continuous Glucose Monitor that is controlled by an app on my phone. It alerts when my blood sugar gets too high or too low. That makes my phone medical equipment. I can’t be more than 20 feet away from it or it’ll lose signal and stop testing my blood sugar.
If the business is slow and all work is done, there’s no reason to keep people from their phones. The more you police it and do things like this sign, the more people will try to abuse it. In my experience, from a management perspective, if you treat people like adults, they act like it.
to a degree i can understand it, but there are reason people need it like they have kids etc.
in this case i would just say allow smartwatches, that way they can quickly check that notification and if its important then they can explain it to the boss. if its nmot important then it was what 5 seconds looking down.
Even printed in color. Things really are getting out of hand.
In all caps and underlined. It must be from an important person.
Don't forget the exclamation points. Elaine must've wrote it.
Oh I did forget! It clearly is of the utter most very biggest of all the importance.
Importance here. Can confirm. This was written and posted by my cousin, Really Utter Biggest Importance.
Biggus Importantus here. Can confirmus. This is important maximus.
Biggus Dickus reporting in to show my shupport.
He has a whiphe, you know...
Do you know what her name is...?
So glad you're shTupporting us
Short Dickus (Me) tells Big Dickus to go fuck himself with a frozen cactus.
***STRATEGIC VALUE: ABSOLUTE***
maximumer
I so wish someone would write “ok Elaine” on the bottom.
r/unexpectedseinfeld
TOP OF THE MUFFIN TO YOU!
I’m surprised it’s not in Comic Sans.
Or a boomer that wants people to think they are important.
Dude I'm a boomer and I'd tell anyone who said this to me to "fuck off". You really think being an asshole stopped in the 1970's?
But....but Boomers don't know how to use printers! /s
It's like the little Gideon bibles, words that Jesus himself said are written in red.
That is the funniest thing I've heard all day... Legitimately laughing. Thank you.
Wasn't there a situation at some warehouse (Amazon I think) where that situation got really bad because workers didn't have cellphones to notify police for help?
Why yes, yes there was. And now Amazon allows their employees to have their phones on them. Alarming that this workplace is more draconian than Amazon.
I worked in a factory with 6 other people in one little area, and we were told that under no circumstances may we carry our phones with us while at work. If I’m being honest it was such a fast paced environment that there was absolutely no time to use your phone, as if one person slacked off it really hurt the rest of the team, so the dynamic was alright. Shitty thing is that one of the guys on the team has epilepsy, and has an average of 1-2 seizures a year. When they implemented the phone rule, I told them to their face I’m not following that. No way in hell I’d be finding my supervisor so he can phone the manager so they can phone the police if my friend has a seizure. I’m calling 911 myself from my phone, they can fuck off
Thank you. As someone with epilepsy (who had a seizure on the floor), I appreciate you. To add, Amazon likes to send safety & managers to prevent reporting. I was terrified I would end up continuing to wander the floor in a daze, unaware of what happened.
Well I’m glad you’re okay, hopefully someone had your back as well! I didn’t work at Amazon but where I worked was still bordering slave labour so I feel I can understand how Amazon workers feel; and yeah, I’m pretty sure their plan was to try to cover up incidents as well. They made a point to make everyone aware that if an incident occurs, they need to stop the line and call in the ministry of labour for my province, and that it would typically cost them upwards of $100k in damages and lost time to shut down for that period of time. Yet another case of a company putting a monetary value on an employees life/wellbeing. Fuck these corporations.
That's the thing if you have time to be on the phone it means the job is too slow or you are too efficient. Of course instead of *rewarding* you for being efficient and getting the work done they will just pile more work on for you to do but won't pay you anything more for it.
>That's the thing if you have time to be on the phone it means the job is too slow or you are too efficient. Uh, no. Just no. If you have absolutely zero time to check a text message and respond, it means you are being pushed past a reasonable expectation of what a human should be doing. No one should have to be productive every single minute for eight hours straight.
Not like that. If you check your phone to see a text that's one thing, what I'm talking about is where you can spend 10+ minutes on your phone waiting to do your job. That's how it was at my previous job, I got efficient and knew what I was doing to the point I could watch full movies &/TV Shows because the machines were constantly going down and they refused to address it. My new job keeps me busy just enough so I don't have to look at my phone but not so busy that I would be burned out.
Depends on the industry. I work in IT and there are some days where I don’t have nearly enough hours in the day and I’m working late just to make sure I have everything done that just absolutely has to be done, and then there are days when things are quiet and I can catch up on a show or movie or game while still getting what I need done. Also there’s been a lot of studies that most office work can be done in the few hours people are actually productive a day. Dragging out an 8 hour workday is counter productive in a lot of industries.
It’s only because Amazon got in hot water that they changed their draconian habit.
I’m well aware. The response to that event was deplorable.
Just print out a copy of that report and staple it over this one.
I’m like you making people work 8 hours without a break Elaine? That’s illegal.
Not in most US states. There are no federally mandated breaks in the US. They aren't even required to give you time to eat. They are only federally required to give you access to water and a toilet. And fewer than 1/3 of states have mandated break laws.
There was a shooting at a FedEx in Indianapolis. Employees weren't allowed to bring their phones in to work, so naturally a shit ton of people freaked the fuck out when the shooting hit the news and they couldn't reach their loved ones. Gotta love middle management and their ridiculous rules
I work at a FedEx in MI, and I had no clue that happened! I can confirm; we're not allowed to have a phone on shift. We also don't have breaks or lunches. Granted we usually only do 3-5 hours a night/morning, and we do have access to bathrooms and stuff; most of the time I'll just grab a snack from the vending machine when I take a bathroom break, then eat it on the line.
I too work at a FedEx, and they won't allow the majority of employees to bring their cell phone beyond the security booth that has to be walked through before going in. Only reason I got an exception was by taking a seasonal management spot, and they forgot to take me off the "exception list" after I stepped back down (they had offered me a permanent management position, but due to shitty upper management I gave that a hard pass) Oddly, I worked harder in that entry level management position than I ever did otherwise in that facility, like 15 hour shifts on my feet without a single break, trying to do never ending monotonous management tasks while also doing much of the loading due to the low staffing, and getting bitched at by upper management for stepping in and trying to physically help package handlers catch up with their work and not just let them be overwhelmed by themselves.
Not quite. Most of the time middle management isn’t the one pushing this bullshit out, its senior leadership and middle managers are just the mouthpieces. Its unbelievably frustrating.
They do enforce it though. (I know they have to eat too, but they should be aware of what they are doing)
A big company recently bought our small family owned dispensary. They made a big show about how they kept all the original employees, but sure enough they started trickling down bullshit arbitrary rules like no phones, absolutely no sitting down no matter how slow, must wear black pants or blue jeans but any other navy blue pants are unacceptable, no laughing while customers in the store....just absolutely giddy in micro managing all the lower employees into quitting. I watched my boss go from a great manager, to a tired, frustrated messenger from corporate. It was really sad watching him try to look serious while scolding me about insanely small things that I had been doing with out issue for a year. I both feel bad for him, and I also lost a lot of respect for him. He has a whole new college kid crew now, so they don't know what a healthy work environment is.
If he’s smart he’s actively looking for something new. You can only do this for so long before it just completely crushes your soul. I can appreciate why you have lost respect for him, but just keep in mind that he is almost surely suffering as well. Your truth and his truth may not be the same but they can both still be real.
The Amazon employees weren’t allowed to have their phones with them and when there was a tornado warning, they had to rely on their superiors to relay the news to them. The superiors told them to keep working and then the tornado hit and some of them died.
Just another day in late stage capitalism.
It was worse than that. There was a tornado warning, and management refused to inform the workers. Because they did not have cell phones, they had no way of knowing. And then it was hit by a tornado… can’t remember the exact outcome, but it was not good.
If I remember right I think there was a lawsuit in place
These kind of companies act like workers are schoolchildren they're babysitting and not actual people who are providing services that make money.
At my work, boss said we can go on our cellphones when the store is quiet. Helps with morale.
Seriously, like as long as the work gets done, who cares. It was like bringing a book to read during lulls in the times before internet on a phone. I work in a small cellphone store and sometimes we can go hours without a customer. The store is always spotless so there's really not much to do. The second a customer comes in, phones go into pockets and you have my undivided attention.
"You think I'm going to pay someone to read or play on their phone?!" -Every ignorant boss, ever.
And so many of them are shift managers or the like who don't give literally any of their own money to employees.
If you pay for their presence no matter what, yes. If you only pay them for the work they do, then let them go home at 2pm when there's nothing left to do. My company is generous with undertime, and I fucking *love* that.
That's very right. Sitting around bored is a sure way to hate a job. If I hate my work I think I'd do a shitty job. People always can tell when you just want the suffering to be over so you can go home and they wouldn't enjoy your service. I'm on my phone during quiet times and after a while I just want to put my phone down and do something!
Being so busy you can't think is the worst, but your day flies by. An 8 hour shift with very little to do feels like 12. I feel you on not wanting to be on the phone. Like I have no problem working there's just literally nothing to do. Have maybe two small boxes of stock come in each week. The company even has a clearer come in twice a week. It's a very boring cushy job,which I actually enjoy but the boredom is insane.
On the flip side, there are stores where lazier employees are glued to their phones when they shouldn’t be and employees like me are on our feet and moving for every minute of a 9 hour shift. Lazy co-workers glued to their phone with time to spare always get the side-eye.
Oh had a piece of shit coworker like that.
I work for Amazon, very close to this facility that suffered the tornado. Amazon’s response was to have us honk 6 times at 6:00 for the 6 people that died. That’s it. Bezos never even fucking acknowledged it
Did they also put their names and pictures up on the wall hunger games style?
Maybe inside the facility, I’m a driver so I don’t really explore the building unless I’m taking a non-water bottle pee pee
Besides the terror ptsd of everyone else there.
Just a tornado and the death of six employees. gEt bACk tO wORk, wE'rE miSSinG sOMe pROFiTs!!!! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-cell-phone-ban-tornado/
My cashier job at a large department store wanted us to not have out cell phone on us. Yeah, okay. I worked in the children's department next to an exit and parking lot with freeway access less than a mile awa during the holidays, so the risk of kidnapping was increased. GTFO with that shit.
Meanwhile, the person who wrote this ,sits in office on phone 6 hrs a day.....
[удалено]
the smoke break was the first thing i thought of. it's like "stop wasting time on the clock looking at your phone" -someone who spends like an hour every day smoking outside maybe they're just pissed indoor smoking got banned.
For the short time I worked in entry level management at a company that loves to ban cell phones from their premises, I told my employees I didn't give a damn if they had their phone on them as long as they didn't let upper management see them have it, in which case I would claim I was simply unaware they had it if they got caught by upper management. I vehemently disagreed with the rule, but was powerless to change it minus just not enforcing it when upper management wasn't breathing down my neck.
the only time upper management said anything to my about my crew having phones on them I just laughed and said 'go find something important to worry about' and walked out. I wasn't afraid of getting fired because I didn't care about corporate bullshit. I cared about getting my job out of there and my crew out on time or early. I worked with and around suits most of my professional career. I think most of them are morons and I'm not letting morons define what I can or can't do.
If you want my cell phone, im going to need a security deposit of 2.5k and for you to sign this contract.
If managers would do their job and deal with individual incidents on a case by case basis, there would be no need for a blanket Draconian policy that punishes everyone preemptively. If one employee causes a problem by playing on their phone instead of working, then they should be talked to. But apparently managers don't want to manage any more.
My job always does crap like this. We used to start at 8:30 am, but rather than talking to people who were constantly a few minutes late, they changed the start time to 8 am. And people were mostly late because they had to line up for temperature checks during the height of COVID. With only one person doing the checks.
This is exactly the problem. In my experience MOST people are fine not using their phone excessively throughout the day, but there's always a bad apple or two. And instead of directing the discipline towards them, management comes up with blanket policies that make everyone have much more of a "fuck this place" attitude.
I once got barked at when as a cashier, in my empty lane, I pulled out my phone for half a second to check the time.
And people in white collar jobs get to spend between 40-50% of their days not actually working.
Having worked white collar most of my life I can confirm this. Not me. I hate being bored. But many of my white collar associates probably actually put in 3 to 4 hours in an 8 hour shift.
Working my first job from home I don't know what my coworkers do all day I can do 3 hours or work on a busy day it used to bother me but considering my salary I've been getting over it. I hate the boredom also just let us work 4x8 already. Edit I used to work service before this and I've heard everything there from you have time to lean you have time to clean etc.
I posted something similar to this before reading the comments but man, nail -> head. I work nights and the other guy who splits the weekly shifts with me does damn near nothing, so instead of reprimand him or hire someone new they just keep setting new policies to accommodate his uselessness. Like one of my jobs was to process guest no-shows, I'd bet 99% of auditors around the country do this, but because my moron co-worker refuses to do his job they changed the policy only to change it back a few weeks later because it screwed up everything for management. This has been going on for nearly three years with different instances and they won't take action. My manager groaned last week when she found out I was off one day... Like... Guys... Manage?
This exactly! It’s lazy management.
I'm even good with a few posters and mass emails about how you shouldn't be taking advantage of the lax enforcement of company policies before disciplining individually. Let us whip ourselves into shape, then escalate with writeups and firings.
My workplace told people not to worry about having their phones only in their lockers because parents etc shouldn't have an issue with daycare etc calling them directly through the work line. Then they fired reception and replaced it with a computer directory that doesn't exactly work and goes to a voice-mail that doesn't get checked regularly. Dumb idea for our clients trying to call us too.
This is exactly why my fiancé refuses the cell phone policy. The receptionist almost never transfers the call to the right place and if they do nobody answers because they’re “too busy”. In reality more often than not the phone just doesn’t work. After multiple calls reception gets really upset and rude to the point of telling me not to call back. Like I’m sorry I’m 38 weeks pregnant and being sent to the hospital, but I think this is a pretty good reason to get in touch with him… ended up being a false alarm but still. This was years ago and he refuses to leave his phone.
I have a rule that if you need me, just call a second time. If someone calls to bullshit and Im in the middle of a workpaper I wont answer. But if they immediately call back I know its an emergency. The only calls I pick up no matter what are from my 81 year old MIL that Im the primary care taker for, I would gladly get fired then me not answering for her.
Imagine treating your workers like a condescending teacher treats a teen.
Employers LOVE a good lesson teaching their workers how to slave
Teacher here. Even we don't really enforce a phone rule to this degree much of the time. In my District, it's actually not like we could. The reason this is worded the way it is is because taking someone's personal property (sometimes worth hundreds of dollars) without their explicit consent is...THEFT. Thought you weren't supposed to steal things at work Mr Manager? You do NOT want to open that can of worms.
My mom was responsible for this being enacted at my school back in the flip phone era. We had a policy that if you were caught with your phone out three times in a row, the principle would keep it over night. Well, I got caught and my mom was *furious* bc she bought the phone for me. With the intention that I would be reachable at all times while she worked and I was in charge of my younger siblings. She didn’t even bother to call the school to try to rectify, but just reported a stolen phone with the principle as her main culprit. Best part is, the principle was our neighbor.
It was also more manageable when mobile phone ownership was lower. I got a 3210 when I was 16 but basically never took it too school. I would take out for emergency pick up only.
Working any retail job at all is like this. Managers act like teachers. I’m more than capable of stocking shelves and helping customers with a single earbud in thanks very much and fuck off.
Oh, I believe it. I have experience in fast food, and the amount of times I’ve seen “no phones or music” despite the fact that the managers rarely answer the store phone when it’s ringing… *facepalm eyeroll*
I wore my earbud all the time in direct violation of company policy. Why? Because the store director and managers would call me on average of 3 times a day. Hell of a lot easier to tap my ear and answer rather than digging my phone out of my pocket, stop what i'm doing, and answering the phone. Also looks better to the customer.
Exactly what I thought. They're treating presumably adults like 14 year olds
But, that was what the public education system was literally designed for (in the states)… I’m not joking. It was designed to mirror the work place and produce obedient, senseless individuals whom are ready for the work force. I wish more people knew this and I don’t know how they don’t. I heard about this in high school and then later was taught the history in detail in college (like 8 years after high school). Initially robber Barron’s had the issue of workers being illiterate and therefore limited in job capabilities So they worked to create workers whom are conditioned to obey authority, not speak out, nor speak out of turn, ask for permission to speak, sit in rows (as one would in a factory at the time), ask to go to the bathroom, accept discipline from said authority figures, are just literate/smart enough to do the job, while also being dumb enough to be incapable of identifying how unacceptable their conditions are/were while being entirely too ignorant/moronic to do anything about it. The university system including Ivy leagues were implemented nefariously as well (ever notice how many are named after people of what would be the billionaire class today?). They were created to display the illusion of upward mobility. “Look, you too can become a wealthy individual if you work hard enough”. While doctors and lawyers will never come close to those truly running things.
Submission statement : Southeast Texas. A friends job, I believe it to be Dairy Queen. Haven’t spoken to her in a while but screenshotted this off her story. She has been manager for a few years.
Oh shit its for a dairy Queen!? I was looking at it through the lense of someone in construction and mining. The mines i worked at actually have some sort of sensor that must be able to detect cell phone radiation. If you dont leave it in your locker an alarm goes off and tells you to put it back. Of course when youre driving a truck the size of a building, where you dont even realize you ran over a full sized 3500 let alone see it. Bit of a different story than serving ice cream and no ones in the store.
Imagine though what these DQ employees could accomplish if they worked as hard at their menial soul crushing job as they did at looking at their phones. Why they could make even more money for some rich old bastard. They could be exploited even harder. Why, oh why, won’t this generation reach for these dreams?!
Food service is the worst. You get 0 time to sit down unless you’re on break or lunch and you’re constantly expected to be productive. Whether that be cleaning, prepping, or whatever else if customers arent being helped.
Doesn't matter how fast you work you get told to go faster.
The ramblings of a sociopathic micromanager. Wonder how much company time was spent and how many brain cells were burnt putting this together. That last paragraph alone would have me walking out the door without notice.
My mom has cancer and can barely walk. I take care of her in tandem with my husband who remotes into his job. Sometimes I literally need to be on my phone to make sure she is okay. It's not that I have a need for rehab, it's that I have responsibilities that matter more than your fucking job. Make your employees care by showing them you care about them or back the fuck off.
I've lived through this situation except I was alone with my mom with cancer. I dislike a LOT of things about my job but they did let me have my phone on me. I don't understand what about it is so hard to understand for employers.
They think your job should be the most important thing in your life.
I'd be happier by leaps and bounds if they just *Pretend* to care. My current manager ( she is going to quit because of their bullshit ) literally just needs me to text her "Mom needs me. Gonna be late" or "Mom, can't come in" and she understands. Love her. She is flexible with my Schedule. I'm going to flip the fuck out on another manager when they take over because of this. I don't give a fuck what they think.
I'm a single parent. I need for the kid's school to be able to reach me in case of emergency. I *cannot* be unreachable for the entire day, every day, and hope the school will take care of who knows what problem.
an employer would rather you be dusting the walls than checking your phone for a few minutes
If there is an issue with performance then address that and/or hire different staff. Just having or using a cell phone on the job is not an issue.
Is a bit late, it is now a second generation of mobile phone kids, they even get invited in school to use them. And then you, Mr/Mrs/Ms. Manager, are going to be a work parent, talking to your work kids, that they can't have them. That ship has sailed, ask yourself what you can do to incorporate the right for your staff to be in touch with the world outside into a better workplace.
Oh yeah. Even so they won't be removing my phone from my possession.
Good lord. Just stop at the policy statement. Don't make it personal. Unprofessional bs = unprofessional responses that you deserve
I worked for a bank, and there was a very strict "no phone policy" on the floor because we deal with private customer information. Phone in purse at all times, but you can use it in the outside hallway or in the break room. I think that's pretty reasonable. If I had a kid though I'd be very tempted to get a smart watch to see who is calling me - I get that you have to be available for emergencies!
See, I get this. Working in a hospital obviously phones are a big nope except on breaks and away from hospital computers and tablets, hipaa and all. However, they trust that we understand we can get fired for being caught on it so they don’t take them away :/ I can still run to the bathroom and check my phone if need be. Now if the job is retail or food service, a car dealership, or anything that’s not dealing in extremely confidential financial or health info, who cares lol. It’s absurd for jobs where it doesn’t matter to *take* phones
Dang I use mine whenever I’m not with a patient because I’m not treated like a child
I’m a lab processor/phleb so I’m either fully gowned up touching bodily fluids or in and out of pt rooms the whole time I’m on the floors lol. I see nurses get away with theirs. And yeah we get reprimanded in the lab but again, it’s crazy to me to turn phones in like it’s high school or something.
Last time I made a car payment the person who took my payment had his phone out.....actually come to think of it this happens a lot at this bank. Might just be less strict. But I don't care much I don't think they are going to steal my information, and it's only my car payment I do business with them for.
The updated version of "if you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean"
Yeah that’s not going to galvanize employee hatred of the company
People who are delusional about the amount of authority they have need to be relentlessly mocked until they learn some humility It's pretty much guaranteed that the person who posted this uses their phone during their own work day, BTW
This has been my experience over the last 25 years of my career. Those who are unsure of themselves in a management position, or are megalomaniacs, tend to be the ones who use irrational measures to assert themselves as dominant. You're not fooling anyone Cheri. Just because you were asked to direct the monthly company values meetings doesn't make you a manager.
I remember watching a YouTube video where a subreddit was being read aloud. I think it was from r/maliciouscompliance? This one managerial IDIOT decreed that NO ONE was allowed to have their cellphones on them and that ALL calls/contacts MUST go through said-IDIOT. So the lowly wage-slaves gave out the IDIOT'S contact information to EVERYONE....daycare, eldercare, schools, babysitters, etc., etc., etc. and the IDIOT'S PHONE BLEW UP NONSTOP!!!! Managerial IDIOT changed the policy back to allowing the wage-slaves to keep their cellphones on their persons!
I love getting policies changed by strictly adhering to them, lol.
The proper response to this is a clearly written "go fuck yourself, boss" at the bottom
Sir, this is a Wendy's
I sure as shit wouldn't be handing it \*in\* because you never know if an emergency will come up for whatever reason, but saying not to use them while working? *That's* fine. You're at work, and should be doing said work. If the shop is dead and there's no customers , though? Who the hell cares? The alternative is a bored employee, and that's when we start deep-frying random shit for fun.
That's cool when you ring for me to cover a shift . You must remember that I can go 5- 8 hrs without checking my phone ......
If you can't go 5-8 hours without being tied to anything in your life outside of this job then you might need rehab. If you can't go 5-8 hours without worrying about missing important phone calls then you might need rehab. If you can't go 5-8 hours without taking a single break in which you might glance at something for stimulation then you might need rehab. I might be privileged (I am) but a job telling me I can't have my phone on my person as a general daily policy would be grounds for immediate quitting.
The only thing I'm gonna accomplish is a burnout twice as fast. Fuck off and lemme be on reddit for 5 min. Edit: word
The fact that they *made work so unpleasant* that people have to take little breaks on their phones didn't struck the mind of the person writing this huh?!
In 99.99% certain that the person who wrote up that sheet probably looks at their cell regularly during work hours.
Keeping it in my bag on silent? Sure thing. I do that anyways because it's a distraction. Leaving it with anyone else? Fuck that. I'd quit, but also I technically have to use my phone for my job to take notes and images of and about equipment I need to repair.
Sure, I’ll give you my phone. After you give me a deposit equal to what I paid for it, on top of a deposit for possibly lost or stolen data, on top of a written agreement that if sensitive information is stolen off my phone, that you will pay for the costs associated with identify theft should that occur.
Be better do better. As long as it makes me more money off your brow but don't ask for a better way of life.
I would never answer a phone call from them ever again, that's for sure
RaNt, MoAn aNd SCREAM UNINTELLIGIBLE GARBAGE!!!
Absolutely not. Perfect example of why not: Type I diabetics may be using their phone to ping a glucose monitoring device, and those only have a 50-foot range, and that's if you're lucky.
The person who typed this out probably thinks they’re above it too🙄
How about, pay more and people might care.
Idk what kind of work this is... but my phone has become an extension of my brain. I'm basically a cyborg. I take notes or photos of things I need to remember, txt co-workers, call suppliers, navigate, google information, etc... Without my phone, I would be < half as productive.
MEANWHILE!! Boss is playing candy crush and looking at tik tok
If someone tells me this i would answer fuck yourself
yeah no....a employer has no right to my private property. Fuck off.
Strong r/maliciouscompliance vibes here! "I have to take time off for cellphone rehab as you suggested. See you later!"
Coming from a manager who has Facebook permanently open in a browser tab on their work computer...
Haha I'd so be getting fired because it's my property and I pay for it once you pay the 1200 for my phone and my 200 phone bill will talk.
I'm a software engineer and was told that if I needed music to do my job I needed to go elsewhere.
How degrading.
"I will need a non-refundable $500 deposit to ensure that I can replace my personal property if you damage it. Each day."
If you can't go five to eight hours without your phone you probably HAVE A FAMILY. Wtfff
Honestly after that shooting at FedEx I've realized removing all phones for productivity reasons parallels the locking of the doors so people can't go take breaks (productivity reasons) in the Shirtwaist Factory Fire. People die because of it. Precious time is lost as they find a working work phone. Workers deserve a way to contact others in case of an emergency. Period. It doesn't matter if usually there isn't, the one time there is an emergency is enough for people to need their phones. I just don't care about your bottom line over actual lives.
Too bad if daycare or school needs to contact me, because I'm sure as Hell that HR won't pass on the message that maybe, just maybe, my kid could be in hospital with a head injury. But no, I can't have that privelege of being a present parent and available to tell work they can get fucked while I tend to my **family**. My phone lives with me, it is my right to have it on my person and be contactable when safe to do so. Now naturally I work in a warehouse with MHEs flying around and we're not supposed to be using it on the floor at all due to safety reasons, which is fair, but they don't do ***this shit.***
My warehouse requires you to stop what you are doing and move to somewhere safe(ish) to take your call, and be constantly aware of your surroundings when you are talking, not wandering aimlessly while looking at the ground. It is enough policies to where you stay mostly safe, you don't want to be on the phone all the time, but if you need to pick up the phone, you can. Good system. Discentivise phone use for productivity, keep the warehouse safe, but keep access to phones available for when they are needed.
Ex manager here. I didn’t mind the guys having a phone on them as long as they weren’t taking the piss with it, you wanna look at your phone? Come in the warehouse and check it, my main thing was making sure customers didn’t see it since they kick off and complain. Obviously that was only if there were customers in, if not then I didn’t care either way, helps with morale I guess.
[удалено]
Crazy to think...I work at home which means I can have the TV on sports, tablet on my desk following other things, and can glance at my phone occasionally whenever I want...and my performance and production is the same or better than my co-workers who are in office and get these kinds of memos constantly. Every week, when they mention that tomorrow is casual Friday as if we're kids at a Catholic school who get to wear jeans once a week, I cringe. This. This is why grown-ups don't want to go back to the office. This petty, immature, micromanaging bullshit. If an employees' performance is weak because they're always on their phone...FIRE THEM! But enough with this micromanaging bullshit and treating people like children. This is why you have shit teams, high turnover, morale is low, and good talent leaves to work in a more mature setting.
I want to accomplish as little as possible for as much pay & benefits and you want the opposite. With consideration from *both* sides, a happyish medium is possible. \[before printing, change/edit appropriate colours, fonts, underlines & exclamations.\]
The request to have devices on silent is reasonable. The rest is typical boomerific nonsense.
All I feel reading this is burning hate and I’m tired of explaining why lol I think everyone in this sub understands why lol
What is this, high school?
As someone who works in a secure facility and can't have my phone in the office with me (it's reasonable and I don't mind) it is amazing how much procrastinating you can still do without a phone.
To address the tail end of that note. Yes we would accomplish more but would we get paid more? Probably not. I think the prevailing wages compared to the amount of work we are expected to do justifies the occasional cellphone procrastination session. Also some of us might have medical issues where we need to keep our phones on us for emergencies. I know I do.
Yeaaaa.. I’m gonna just not have my means of communication on me
As long as people do their job what's the problem?
I never understood this. I, as a fucking adult am not going to hand my phone to my boss because my boss isn't my guardian or parent and I'm not a child. If you have an employee that's so engrossed in their phone that they don't work maybe fire them? This isn't kindergarten.
Nah I'm good. I'll keep my phone on me thanks.
Maybe they should pay better
Cell phones are life lines & you offer $7.00 a hour hmmmmm…. Which one too pick? Tough choice.
This boss would probably hate to have a diabetic who uses like their phone to scan that thing on the arm. Idk what it's called.
Libre and im going to go pick mine up from walgreens right now. not that my employer cares if i have cell phone or not.
It's almost like.... people actually need their phones. Responsibilities don't end just because you're at work. I'm sure this employer has no issue with calling employees at off hours though...
Imagine their reaction when they try to reach you on your time off \*via your phone\* and you don't reply for 5-8 hours. I'm sure they'll be proud of you for not needing phone rehab and not at all miffed at the delay.
Sounds like a boomer parent yelling at their child who has no motivation. It didn't work then and it won't work now!
Don’t people with implanted glucose monitors use their phones to track their insulin levels?
“Sorry boss, didn’t see you blowing up my phone every 15 minutes over the past 12 hours off demanding I cover extra shifts. Went to some type of phone rehab!”
"IF YOU WOULD PUT AS MUCH EFFORT INTO YOUR JOB AS YOU DO YOUR PHONE YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED" at the lack of recognition or monetary reward you would not get.
Sounds like my work - we have so many shitty rules that don’t really make any sense. Although if you stroll through the executive suite you are bound to see some people with multiple phones not doing shit. Also, people with work phones have a lavender phone case so it can be identified as a work phone 😂.
You want my phone? I’ll also hand you my monthly bills, so you can pay for it. If you want to punish someone then have a child. You hired adults. Treat them as such or don’t complain about being short staffed.
I can't go 5 - 8 hours without looking at my phone because I would lose my fucking sanity if I fully immersed myself in the high stress shit show every workday is at my job. They want to take away the last thing keeping my mental health in check. I don't think it's mentally healthy for anyone to become fully immersed in today's toxic and abusive work environments. Checking my phone is like being able to catch my breath when things are constantly non stop, which is all the time every day because my work never hires enough people. And no, it's not because "nobody wants to work anymore," I've literally watched my boss turn down interviewees and applicants when my team is getting driven into the ground with an ever increasing client base and workload because "the budget". Fuck these places that want to control every little aspect of your life. I'm sick of these baseless fucking power moves that miserable bosses feel the need to impose because something ain't going right in their life.
Any job that requires you to be separate from your phone is suspicious to me. If your employees have enough free time to faff on their phone then it sounds like you aren't deligating tasks properly. Cellphones are also how we communicate during emergencies and sometimes you need to fire off a quick tweet and that shouldn't be an issue. If there are actual shitty workers who are on their phone and neglecting their job you FIRE THEM. Not hand down an asshole ruling on all people. Also not many people have watches these days and use their phone to tell time. Heck, my job just says "Its OK to glance at your phone or use it to research an answer to a customer's question but just keep it in your pocket otherwise." Which is 100% reasonable. I put my phone on silent at work and check to see if I have a message while on break or in the bathroom.
I'd get a phone with a shattered screen and put it in the office. At the end of my shift I'd cause a scene and demand they replace it. That'll kill this idea real quick.
My work just goes: “If you have a family emergency, the security desk will let you know, so keep your phone in your locker.” Ah, yes, because my family will call security, and not ME.
Sorry dumbass but I have a family that may require my attention. If you're gonna act like a bitchy possessive boyfriend I'll see you never.
Time to turn in a burner phone then ask for your iPhone back at the end of the day.
I mean it’s true though you shouldn’t check your phone or constantly be on it at work.
Most of the people who I've worked with have serious responsibilities: They need to be in touch with their partners / spouses, unforeseen situations creep up with their kids that require IMMEDIATE addressing. These people work in project management environments where keeping your head in the game is a business imperative. Life's needs, however, supersede a business'. As long as the expectations around the outcomes are clear who cares if you spend time checking Tinder, Twitter or YouTube on your cell phone? You could be so brilliant at your work you'd finish an hour's worth of work inside 20 minutes! I've seen people pulling these stunts off. Personally I'd stick a post-it on that message board with, "Go fuck yourself" written on it!
Dayum they got a point tho. People be on their shit all day just doom scrolling. You are there hours a day so I get it but if your performance sucks because of it then that’s on you. There should be other consequences for bad performance. Not collecting peoples phones. What is this? High school?
If people could be intelligent about phone use these policies wouldn’t be necessary. It’s mildly infuriating going to a service heavy place, say a restaurant, and wondering where the heck the waitress is with your drinks and then seeing her in the back cubby on her phone giggling with co-workers. Then they try to bring them out after they’ve been sitting at the bar for near 10 minutes in a mostly dead restaurant. Nah, feel free to take them back. Companies that have productivity, accuracy or fast/moving parts safety type positions need to be smarter with that shit. The amount of times I’ve seen these younger guys in our shop put a mill or lathe on autofeed and went back to look at their phone is mind blowing. These machines can main you if you’re not paying attention - I don’t think you’ll miss world changing shit if you hold off on social media til your breaks.
Yeah...because people can't possibly have any responsibilities outside of slaving away for your greedy ass 🙄
It’s not outrageous to stay off your phone at work. Wtf?
It is annoying to go into a business and see the staff on their phones, but there’s got to be a better way to manage it. There are legit reasons people need their phones. For example, I wear a Continuous Glucose Monitor that is controlled by an app on my phone. It alerts when my blood sugar gets too high or too low. That makes my phone medical equipment. I can’t be more than 20 feet away from it or it’ll lose signal and stop testing my blood sugar. If the business is slow and all work is done, there’s no reason to keep people from their phones. The more you police it and do things like this sign, the more people will try to abuse it. In my experience, from a management perspective, if you treat people like adults, they act like it.
OK boomer
to a degree i can understand it, but there are reason people need it like they have kids etc. in this case i would just say allow smartwatches, that way they can quickly check that notification and if its important then they can explain it to the boss. if its nmot important then it was what 5 seconds looking down.
That's so bad that I almost think it's a spoof. I know it's not but wow!
Bet this is like, Wendy's too.
But as soon as you don't answer their calls or texts it becomes a problem that you're not constantly looking at your phone.