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I have never been in a position to be able to take personal calls at work for more than 1 minute.
I had a boss whose wife would call his office phone or cell everyday to chat about random stuff like a cute dog she had seen or talk about friends, etc. I would never do this because it seems excessive but they seemed happy.
He seemed head over heels for her and always talked about her. It was so cute.
Honestly I think this is important. I check in with my husband every day at work for at least 5 minutes and he will call and check on me also. So many couples are probably not communicating at all during the work day and then wonder why the spark is gone or why people end up running off with co-workers.
Of course it shouldn't be excessive, but I personally couldn't imagine going the entire workday without communicating with my spouse.
Honestly I think this is important. I check in with my husband every day at work for at least 5 minutes and he will call and check on me also. So many couples are probably not communicating at all during the work day and then wonder why the spark is gone or why people end up running off with co-workers.
Of course it shouldn't be excessive, but I personally couldn't imagine going the entire workday without communicating with my spouse.
We text often. We won't call unless were off, but I couldn't just not text my gf for 8 plus hours.
It becomes a problem when the personal calls/texts/emails are preventing work from getting done. everyone is going to need to take a call every now and then but what the heck to some people need to be on the phone so much for? Why do you need to talk to your mom/boyfriend/kids 10 times per day for? save the "Hi baby boo I miss u baby boo" and shoe shopping /american idol/teen mom talk for after work.
If I was calling my GF 10 x per day she'd murder me.
Or browsing CD at 10am, that would probably prevent work getting done properly.
I'm retired now, so I can take any and all calls I wish. But when I was working, I really never experienced all of this concern over other people's phone habits. Maybe things have changed in the 10 years I have been away from the workplace. If we had issues with coworkers, we faced them directly with our concerns instead of posting our frustrations on public forums during business hours. Seems to me that is more of a time waster than anything else. If talking to the person we had issues with didn't fix the problem, we went to a supervisor or manager, pretty simple.
I can't believe people are actually justifying spending hours on the phone talking with friends because they have to spend FORTY hours a week working... PU-LEASE! I go to work, put in 8 hours, then go home! I don't have time to talk about stuff that isn't important. I have deadlines I have to make!
There is no need to talk about unimportant stuff at work, and if I were an employer and someone was constantly chatting about little things like how cute Aunt Flo's dog is or something else, I wouldn't hesitate to let them go if they didn't heed the warning the first time.
IMO though necessary calls are different, if your doctor's office calls you, of course I'd answer! But I'd keep the call quick and I wouldn't be gabbing really loud to disturb other people.
It's not always easy to ignore people when they are talking very loudly and go on and on for a while. I moved cubicles when I was promoted and I went from a nice and quiet area to an area that has a lot of traffic and TBH I miss my old space!
I can't believe people are actually justifying spending hours on the phone talking with friends because they have to spend FORTY hours a week working... PU-LEASE! I go to work, put in 8 hours, then go home! I don't have time to talk about stuff that isn't important. I have deadlines I have to make!
There is no need to talk about unimportant stuff at work, and if I were an employer and someone was constantly chatting about little things like how cute Aunt Flo's dog is or something else, I wouldn't hesitate to let them go if they didn't heed the warning the first time.
IMO though necessary calls are different, if your doctor's office calls you, of course I'd answer! But I'd keep the call quick and I wouldn't be gabbing really loud to disturb other people.
It's not always easy to ignore people when they are talking very loudly and go on and on for a while. I moved cubicles when I was promoted and I went from a nice and quiet area to an area that has a lot of traffic and TBH I miss my old space!
I don't think [most] people are justifying spending hours talking on the phone. To my understanding, most people here are discussing the occasional call from a friend or SO that might last 5-10 minutes. Maybe to discuss dinner plans or who's going to pick up the kids, etc.
There's no right or wrong here. If it's cool between the employer and the employee, it's fine. The reality is that plenty of jobs are not about hours.
I don't have time to talk about stuff that isn't important. I have deadlines I have to make!
While I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion about people who can't last 40 hrs a week without many hours of contact of the personal nature, I CAN tell you that after working hard my entire adult life (40+ yrs), the most seemingly mundane conversations with one's spouse end up being VERY important in the final analysis.
Work at the expense of successful personal relationships are a poor legacy in life.
In the nearly year and a half that I have been at my current position, I have taken or made less than five personal calls. I also agree that people should not be talking on the phone all of the time.
However, what do you expect people to do if they have a set amount of work they need to do before their shift is over, they finish it three or four hours early and there is literally nothing else to do? I ask because right now, my company is phasing out and as a result, accounts are being transferred to another location, leaving MUCH less work to be done. I like keeping busy at work but it is SO painfully boring to sit around from 2 AM - 5 AM (it used to be six but since they're shutting down they let us not clock out for lunch) and have NOTHING to do.
So what do you expect people to do when they actually have NOTHING to do for hours at a time? I'm never on the phone since I'm not a phone person but there is only so much boredom one can take. Should I just sit around, staring at the wall? (Actually, I am usually reading. But not having ANY work to do is maddening.)
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And as for noise, I work in a VERY noisy place. There is all kinds of equipment going at all times. We all have our own areas. I probably would not notice someone talking on the phone.
I agree with you. It is one of the most PAINFUL things in the world, for me as well, to not have something to do. I've always been one to check with a supervisor, in order to find something else to do. If there really and truly is nothing to do, I would ask to go home. (Not usually possible with nursing though).
If there really is nothing to do and I can't go home, I become an organization or clean freak! What makes 2-3 hrs seem like 10-12 hrs? HAVING NOTHING TO DOOOOOO!!!
Honestly I think this is important. I check in with my husband every day at work for at least 5 minutes and he will call and check on me also. So many couples are probably not communicating at all during the work day and then wonder why the spark is gone or why people end up running off with co-workers.
Of course it shouldn't be excessive, but I personally couldn't imagine going the entire workday without communicating with my spouse.
Me to!!!! Not sure why people here gloat about how they never ever communicate with each other at work. Do they not urinate during work hours either?
Any call you receive at work should involve you having to leave work.
Cell phones have cameras. They have no place at work. At my last job you would be terminated if caught taking a picture.
For spouses, if an out of town relative dies and it is already afternoon, do not call and tell them at work. Wait until they get home. Why put them through that for the drive home or some sad reaction in front of coworkers.
Any call you receive at work should involve you having to leave work.
Cell phones have cameras. They have no place at work. At my last job you would be terminated if caught taking a picture.
For spouses, if an out of town relative dies and it is already afternoon, do not call and tell them at work. Wait until they get home. Why put them through that for the drive home or some sad reaction in front of coworkers.
If my grandpa dies I want to know. Don't give me BS about it being afternoon and you can wait 3 hours. This is reality where I live people die. Who the hell cares what your co-worker thinks!
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