Workplace group texting

Strumms

Gael Round Against wrote: »

Your making the very big assumption that the “person above their head” is going to side with you and not your manager who may be a friend with them, hell your boss might not even have a direct superior if they are very senior or the owner of the company. What would you do them?

I haven’t assumed anything, simply outlined intended actions.

Dav010

Strumms wrote: »

I haven’t assumed anything, simply outlined intended actions.

Do you ever consider the law of unintended consequences?

Gael Round Against

Gael Round Against wrote: »

I use my personal phone for work all the time, I use my personal laptop for work at times (and I use my work laptop for personal things a lot too) and I am in the work WhatsApp group with all my team at work which we use for certain work related things and also some fun and banter etc. I’d hate having to me messing around with two phones also.

None of this bothers me in the least, some of the effort people put in to get bothered about this stuff is something I’ll never understand.

Some of us don't mix work with pleasure. I'm paid hourly and if I do something personal during work time, I get in trouble. Why should I do work during personal time for free?

My company, you need to be in a group to get overtime. It's wrong but you won't change it at this stage so I'm in that group for that purpose.

There's also a group for my unit. It's small and rarely used but at one stage it would be hopping 24/7 with **** that's not even supposed to be in our personal phones. As in management told us not to use our phones but eager beavers out to save the world would still put stuff up. It eventually stopped after a few complaints and the offenders were pulled aside and told, continue and be disciplined.

I don't mind a genuine emergency call. I don't mind a genuine 'I'm in trouble and need help / advise / favour' calls but the mundane crap that can easily wait? Email me in work and I'll read it then. I say this as someone who got a number of calls while on honeymoon about stuff that my replacements were supposed to be trained and capable of doing.

But anyway op, unless they need to be in the group, just don't install it and simple tell them to don't use it. I would be amazed if it's official policy to discuss work on third party apps

KaneToad

Gael Round Against wrote: »

Exceptionally poor form imo not to answer the phone like that, I bet you felt a right fool when it turned out they were contacting you to tell you to catch a flight.

I just could not act like that but then again I feel a bit of responsibility towards my job and company I work for. Were I your manager I would never forget that incident and it would definitely influence decisions regarding promotions etc.

Couldn't disagree more.

It's a failing in company processes for them to be unable to conduct their business with their employees during working hours. The employee working hours, that is!

Strumms

Dav010 wrote: »

Do you ever consider the law of unintended consequences?

I’ve considered employment law, unfortunately not every employer does though. . Often costs them, an expensive reminder.

Dav010

Strumms wrote: »

I’ve considered employment law, unfortunately not every employer does though. . Often costs them, an expensive reminder.

The manager you complain to could act in accordance with employment law, and still not side with you, your action could then have unintended consequences for you.

Strumms

Dav010 wrote: »

The manager you complain to could act in accordance with employment law, and still not side with you, your action could then have unintended consequences for you.

As usual their actions might have unintended consequences for them AND their employers if they are not playing with a straight bat.

job seeker

Them work WhatsApp group are an absolute haunt! I was in one in my first full time job and you couldn't even enjoy your days off.. The boss constantly messaging with a "Game plan" :rolleyes: for the up coming week. In my current job now, I made the mistake of giving my boss has my personal phone number. But the 6am calls to pick up stock on my way to work stoped. When I started leaving my phone on flight mode until I got to work and back on flight mode again at 7pm that evening.

Wanderer78

salonfire wrote:

If I was your employer, I would turn your attitude back on you. I would not take any calls in the morning from you saying you were running late or had a sick child to mind.

Do you have any compassion at all for people, sh1t happens in life, humans are not perfectly operating robots, a sick child can be a very anxious and stressful experience, and funnily enough, humans, including staff, get sick at times, and can be late for all sorts of reasons. A bit of flexibility is required in the work place, to allow humans be humans, always baring in mind, in general, 'every force has an equal and opposite reaction', I.e. you ll quickly produce a highly toxic work environment with your attitude, and highly stressed workers which are deeply unhappy at work, this potentially could tank your business.

salonfire wrote:

Stinking attitude to have.

Interesting!

job seeker wrote:

Them work WhatsApp group are an absolute haunt! I was in one in my first full time job and you couldn't even enjoy your days off.. The boss constantly messaging with a "Game plan" for the up coming week. In my current job now, I made the mistake of giving my boss has my personal phone number. But the 6am calls to pick up stock on my way to work stoped. When I started leaving my phone on flight mode until I got to work and back on flight mode again at 7pm that evening.

Germany tried to introduce a legislation to stop this kind of behaviour from employers, unsure if it was successful, we have to stop this kind of work activities, it's deeply unhealthy, particularly mentally

salonfire

Strumms wrote: »

If you are being paid and it’s your job to take phone calls from your employees when calling in sick and you refuse.... you are going to end up in a world of difficulty, a written warning or most likely demotion or worse... your job to take sick / late calls, you are taking them.

Not before 9am it's not. Therefore I would not entertain any calls before work from someone with an attitude like you encourage . So if you had to contact me for any reason, tough.

I'd expect you at your desk at 9 on the dot.

Strumms

salonfire wrote: »

Not before 9am it's not. Therefore I would not entertain any calls before work from someone with an attitude like you encourage . So if you had to contact me for any reason, tough.

I'd expect you at your desk at 9 on the dot.

I’m sure with an attitude like yours, nobody would really want to have to enter into ANY conversation, pre 9am or otherwise.

It won’t be up to you what you are to ‘entertain’ or otherwise... if you yourself are not on shift or on call or willing and available I’d simply be escalating so that I’d be in compliance with the ‘fitness for duty’ or whatever policy and call your boss, either in their office or mobile imparting the following information...

- that I’m unwell and not fit to attend work.

- I have attempted to contact the line manager to impart this information but they are not taking calls

- an overview of the symptoms.

- when approximately they began.

- that I will be seeking a professional medical opinion that day and will provide a further update via a phone call on receipt of this and if the doctor maintains I’m unfit for duty a doctors note will be furnished via email...

KaneToad

KaneToad wrote: »

Couldn't disagree more.

It's a failing in company processes for them to be unable to conduct their business with their employees during working hours. The employee working hours, that is!

The poster was on holiday for a week or two - a hell of a lot can happen in a week and he was needed abroad on his first day back. The only way to relay this info was to contact him while off.

I couldn’t even pretend to see an issue with this.

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Do you have any compassion at all for people, sh1t happens in life, humans are not perfectly operating robots, a sick child can be a very anxious and stressful experience, and funnily enough, humans, including staff, get sick at times, and can be late for all sorts of reasons. A bit of flexibility is required in the work place, to allow humans be humans, always baring in mind, in general, 'every force has an equal and opposite reaction', I.e. you ll quickly produce a highly toxic work environment with your attitude, and highly stressed workers which are deeply unhappy at work, this potentially could tank your business.

I am all for flexibility I think it’s vitally important but it’s a two way street and the poster who you are replying to was responding to a poster who is not willing to give the smallest ounce of flexibility to their employer and is actually encouraging people to not do so. He deserves to be treated the same himself and get a proverbial kick in the arse.

Strumms

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Do you have any compassion at all for people, sh1t happens in life, humans are not perfectly operating robots, a sick child can be a very anxious and stressful experience, and funnily enough, humans, including staff, get sick at times, and can be late for all sorts of reasons. A bit of flexibility is required in the work place, to allow humans be humans, always baring in mind, in general, 'every force has an equal and opposite reaction', I.e. you ll quickly produce a highly toxic work environment with your attitude, and highly stressed workers which are deeply unhappy at work, this potentially could tank your business

There is that word ‘flexibility’ again. The expectations of its application being that you’ll be flexible as an employee doing all and everything over and above for your employer but probably find yourself in six weeks of negotiations trying to get a late start one morning to bring you son or daughter to the dentist as somebody already has the day booked off.

If your boss knows you are away on holiday they shouldn’t be calling or emailing.

An old colleague of mine who was right about most work related issues used to keep an old ready to go mobile a Nokia prehistoric job as his logged work contact... he never gave his home phone or actual personal mobile, claimed he had neither, he was ex directory, smart guy.

Dav010

Strumms wrote: »

There is that word ‘flexibility’ again. The expectations of its application being that you’ll be flexible as an employee doing all and everything over and above for your employer but probably find yourself in six weeks of negotiations trying to get a late start one morning to bring you son or daughter to the dentist as somebody already has the day booked off.

If your boss knows you are away on holiday they shouldn’t be calling or emailing.

An old colleague of mine who was right about most work related issues used to keep an old ready to go mobile a Nokia prehistoric job as his logged work contact... he never gave his home phone or actual personal mobile, claimed he had neither, he was ex directory, smart guy.

In another thread you demand that managers work late to organise payroll when a colleague leaves, so flexibility is demanded when it suits you. If you don’t think flexibility is required at times, why would you expect it yourself?

Strumms, you have never held a management position where you are responsible for rotas or a team, have you?

Strumms

Dav010 wrote: »

In another thread you demand that managers work late to organise payroll when a colleague leaves, so flexibility is demanded when it suits you. If you don’t think flexibility is required at times, why would you expect it yourself?

Paying someone on time isn’t being flexible, it’s doing your job and meeting your requirements to your employees. They work, employer pays, on time every time. Not surprised that you can’t tell the difference.

Dav010

Strumms wrote: »

Paying someone on time isn’t being flexible, it’s doing your job and meeting your requirements to your employees. They work, employer pays, on time every time. Not surprised that you can’t tell the difference.

It is the responsibility of the employer, but a manager sometimes needs flexibility to cover unexpected absences, contacting members of your team from time to time to cover or change shifts is a job all managers have to do at times, WhatsApp is a quick and simple way of doing it. Having no management experience yourself, that might be difficult to appreciate.

Do you think inflexibility and constant state of indignation can be a hindrance to promotion?

Hotblack Desiato

Gael Round Against wrote: »

I have access to everything at work from my personal devices

That's a recipe for disaster. Your IT department must not be very competent.

beauf

Syrinx9 wrote: »

Hi, a friend of mine who works in education was added to a school staff WhatsApp group. When the lockdown began the amounts of texting increased tenfold and she found it difficult to cope with the constant text alerts, often late at night. We went through all the temporary blocking procedures that we could find online but she ended up temporarily deleting the app. She now feels obliged to reinstall but has mixed feelings about this. Does anyone have any views on this? Or any examples of ways this sort of communication is dealt with in Ireland?

Like others I turn off notifications for busy groups in WhatsApp. Also like others I would say WhatsApp is not really suitable for a work situation. But I only get notifications for important stuff in WhatsApp.

I also have out of hours turned on my work communications so I don't get notifications outside of work hours. If it was important they have my personal mobile. I've chosen not to get a work phone as then they can't insist I always am always available.

Even boards stuff, I get no notifications, I have a rule in email that all forum stuff skips my inbox and goes into it's own folder. Same with sports stuff, kids stuff etc.

Theres even some people at work I have set as spam as they constantly email about wellbeing and draws and not work stuff.

I can see why people would be overloaded if they didn't have some way of filtering the noise.

beauf

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

That's a recipe for disaster. Your IT department must not be very competent.

Maybe they don't have an IT department.

beauf

Flexibility only works if it's a two way street.

Ah-Watch

I recently started a new position in work and my new manager added my personal number to the team Whatsapp. Slightly annoyed by it but didn't want to kick off so left it two or three days of stupid memes etc before leaving the group. I told him he needed to add my work number and not my personal one to the group if I "had" to be on whatsapp but you can be certain I have the group on mute and the work phone automatically goes into do not disturb at 5pm until 9am the next morning. Ideal

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

There is that word ‘flexibility’ again. The expectations of its application being that you’ll be flexible as an employee doing all and everything over and above for your employer but probably find yourself in six weeks of negotiations trying to get a late start one morning to bring you son or daughter to the dentist as somebody already has the day booked off.

You live in another world to me completely, most likely because you are so inflexible yourself. The idea of having to arrange a late start is alien to me.

I start work in the morning more or less when I want. Sometimes 9am, sometimes 8am, sometimes 10am etc etc. I inform no one of what time I’m staring. If I’ve to be “late” to do something I don’t need to tell anyone I just do it.

Again on the other hand I have no issue replying to an email when sitting on the couch in the evening or taking a call while on holidays because it’s all give and take. I would sure as hell prefer my situation than your rigid no compromise way that’s for sure.

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

That's a recipe for disaster. Your IT department must not be very competent.

I look after my own IT. In my last job was the very same, I bypassed the IT dept as they were just a nuisance. Never have any issues.

No idea why you would think it’s a recipe for disaster either. My personal devices are just as secure as my work ones.

Hotblack Desiato

beauf wrote: »

Maybe they don't have an IT department.

That's even worse, if they have remote access but nobody managing it properly. You'd be mad to give your personal information to such a business.

Hotblack Desiato

Gael Round Against wrote: »

I look after my own IT. In my last job was the very same, I bypassed the IT dept as they were just a nuisance. Never have any issues.

Nobody has any issues, until one day when it all goes tits up in a big way...

No idea why you would think it’s a recipe for disaster either. My personal devices are just as secure as my work ones.

You might think they are, but I guarantee you they're not. Nobody would accept locking down a personal device to the extent a work device should be.

So maybe what you really mean is that your work devices are just as insecure as your personal ones...

It's hard to imagine a business which doesn't use personal, confidential or proprietary information in some way, so that sort of laxity is a concern.

Hotblack Desiato

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

That's even worse, if they have remote access but nobody managing it properly. You'd be mad to give your personal information to such a business.

It’s not remote access, it’s cloud access. We run evening off the cloud.

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Nobody has any issues, until one day when it all goes tits up in a big way...

You might think they are, but I guarantee you they're not. Nobody would accept locking down a personal device to the extent a work device should be..

My work devices not locked down, locking down devices is nothing but a hindrance to work.

Thankfully my work laptop was delivered to me directly without even the plastic taken off the box and hasn’t been touched by anyone else, I fully configured it myself and manage all the software myself. I couldn’t tolerate dealing with locked down machines.

beauf

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

That's even worse, if they have remote access but nobody managing it properly. You'd be mad to give your personal information to such a business.

Well that's the reality of small businesses. Quite often some medium to large places have very little IT resources.

beauf

Gael Round Against wrote: »

It’s not remote access, it’s cloud access. We run evening off the cloud.



My work devices not locked down, locking down devices is nothing but a hindrance to work.

Thankfully my work laptop was delivered to me directly without even the plastic taken off the box and hasn’t been touched by anyone else, I fully configured it myself and manage all the software myself. I couldn’t tolerate dealing with locked down machines.

Not everyone is you. You get some users even at director level who download every virus and hack known to man, and leave laptops in every possible location. Then multiply that by hundreds if not thousands of users.. having it looked down stops them from breaking a machine and ensure they keep working.

That's said I'm in IT and I hate locked down systems. But such is life.

Strumms

Dav010 wrote: »

It is the responsibility of the employer, but a manager sometimes needs flexibility to cover unexpected absences, contacting members of your team from time to time to cover or change shifts is a job all managers have to do at times, WhatsApp is a quick and simple way of doing it. Having no management experience yourself, that might be difficult to appreciate.

Do you think inflexibility and constant state of indignation can be a hindrance to promotion?

Being inflexible isn’t desirable. Either on behalf of staff or managers. As long as flexibility is a two way street things work just fine.

A job I worked in previously there had been a bit of an uproar regarding OT allocation and what the procedures were for offering OT and to who...

There was a young guy, after getting married late 20’s... very nice guy, hard worker, very hard worker and he loved his OT... he was very efficient and good at his job... he was doing about 20 hours OT a month... when none of the rest of us wanted it.

At some point an older more experienced colleague was having cash flow issues
, sick kid and wanted his share. This didn’t suit management, he was an OK worker, a diligent and accurate guy but as the department was changing to new more up to date IT software he was struggling... still accurate but slow as fûck...

he wasn’t getting his share of OT...went to HR... they sided with him. Insisted on managers offering OT to the entire workgroup via team email when it was going and if three people out of five volunteered on a shift, the person who did OT last was eliminated and one of the other two chosen... fair, transparent and policy/fairness compliance.

moycullen14

Flexibility is the key. I'd say I am contacted out of hours about twice a year in my current contract. No problem with that and I have no issue with them having my private mobile number. They don't take the p*ss and the contacts are usually 'emergencies' - at least the clients think so.

Don't (and won't) have work emails going to my phone or whatsapps. That seems very intrusive - can't get away from that.

Any time I have to deal with a problem outside of work hours, I log it and then feel quite justified in taking a bit of time for appointments, etc.

Everybody flexible, everybody happy.

If there is an expectation that you work out of hours on a (semi) regular basis then you should be compensated. If the expectation is that you work for nothing then it's not much of a job. You know what to do.

paw patrol

i have a work whatsapp group on my personal phone. It's grand we rarely text each other.


But I get an almighty fear after a session that I've accidentally posted photos or written some stuff I shouldn't in the group by mistake.