Smart phones in the work place

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Anyone aware of any employers introducing guidelines on the use of smart phones in the work place? Does anyone else notice their colleagues constantly using their smart phones in the office to the extent that it's almost obsessive compulsive particularly among the twenty somethings? The whatsapp groups are particularly annoying as their phones are constantly buzzing on their desk.

I walked past a colleague this morning who was sitting back in their chair, sucking their thumb while using the other hand to navigate their phone!

D'Agger

Moved from TGC to Work & Jobs as it's more suited here.

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CatFromHue

A place I worked had a rule that phones were on silent when you're at work.

D'Agger

CatFromHue wrote: »

A place I worked had a rule that phones were on silent when you're at work.

This - in fact I rarely have my phone on loud as it's on my person pretty much constantly so I'll notice calls etc.

Regarding group threads on whatsapp - they bug the life out of me, I can't stand the notifications so I mute them the whole time.

Slippin Jimmy

In my workplace there is a zero tolerance policy on using your mobile phone. Because we handle peoples personal details we are not supposed to have them on our person. Personally I have mine on silent, and if I get a text, email, call I will return it on my break.

Panda_Turtle

Even if its on silent, workers can be checking their smartphone alot; browsing the web, playing games, facebook, etc.

Freemount09

In my highly scientific research I have proved beyond doubt that women are way way worse culprits of wasting time on their phones in work !

gandalf

It really depends on what their work is. Unfortunately I have to be contactable for my job so I have to have one. It is more of a distraction but it comes with the territory. I do have a personal phone as well but it is on silent whilst I am in work.

If they aren't required for the job then people should limit their use tbh. A lot of companies do have very relaxed attitudes to the use of smartphones in this country but if the management feel that people are taking the piss or even worse the use of them among the workforce is having noticeable impact on productivity then people could find that privilege rapidly removed.

Mrs OBumble

No different to regular phones in the places I've been.

The current gig has a "no photos on site" rule - and has had since before cellphones were invented! Don't do anything to enforce it, though.

Crazy crazy replies here but I guess it depends on what company you work for and what the culture is like. In Tech, you pick up your phone when you want to.

Stheno

Deleted User wrote: »

Crazy crazy replies here but I guess it depends on what company you work for and what the culture is like. In Tech, you pick up your phone when you want to.

Yep same here, if they banned smartphones the place would grind to a halt

Irish_Elect_Eng

Many manufacturing plants have banned the use of personal electronic devices on the factory floor.

There seems to be a few valid reasons quoted for this.

(1) You are paid to work, not to amuse yourself.
(2) To reduce distractions on work that requires a high level of concentration that lead to errors and quality issues.
(3) In clean-room environments, devices can lead to contamination.

Stheno

Irish_Elect_Eng wrote: »

Many manufacturing plants have banned the use of personal electronic devices on the factory floor.

There seems to be a few valid reasons quoted for this.

(1) You are paid to work, not to amuse yourself.
(2) To reduce distractions on work that requires a high level of concentration that lead to errors and quality issues.
(3) In clean-room environments, devices can lead to contamination.

All sound valid tbh.

In my case working in tech, people work from home, or out of myriad offices and im/mobile is the most used form of communication

D'Agger

I work in Tech also and need my phone, whilst admittedly not requiring it lots, but when I do need it it's urgent!

On the flipside my buddies working in engineering jobs are uncontactable while at work for the clean room / concentration reasons outlined by Irish_Elect_Eng

I don't think the hard-line of you're not paid to amuse yourself is something that's implemented by many employers. Where I work you have partners, parents, homeowners etc. - odds are you'll need to make personal calls from time to time. I see zero harm in it, however if somebody is not muting their phone, constantly playing games or just distracted by it and not focusing on their primary task of working/doing their job then a manager needs to have a word.

Phantasos

Common sense should prevail - if it isn't affecting the quality of your work (or anyone else's) then occasional smartphone use should be fine.

Constant notifications should not be tolerated though - i worked with someone that had that whistling message tone going off every other minute. Likewise, i had a co-worker that was constantly away from their desk and whose phone was continuously ringing and vibrating. It's not fair to be that distracting to other workers.

Zero tolerance isn't fair at all - i imagine that the people abusing smartphone usage probably have issues with their work ethic anyway.

mrolaf

people should be sensible enough to manage their phones themselves