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That policy is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary, especially considering this is a retail establishment. It is not like you're working for some contractor for Dept. of Defense with top-secret documents or nuclear reactors. I would quit, especially given how they also deny phone use during breaks and lunch. It seems as though this policy did not come to light until after you started working there, right? That too is very wrong of them to not disclose that rule before hiring you --as someone people, like as you say, would not be able to work with that due to other obligations in their lives.
I could even see the potential for a lawsuit against the employer in a situation where say, a family member is desperately needing to contact you in a dire emergency and can not reach you or is denied talking to you if they call the store phone.
I have seen cases like that happen, where a hospital had someone come in gravely injured, a next of kin tries to call the mother and was never given the message at work--finds out hours later her son died some time after being brought in. I would not only be livid, but I would sue my employer too (as she did).
In one of my old jobs (this is casual bartending/catering work btw), you were required to hand in your phone before you started your shift. A supervisor would stand outside the site grounds to receive your phone, put it in a labelled bag, where it would be locked in a secure drawer in another office. They would then tick your name on a sheet. You would not be allowed to work until you did this and you would only be allowed to retrieve your phone at the very end of your shift. There were no exceptions.
If you explained you had no phone, you were required to have your belongings searched. If the supervisor was satisfied you would be given a second search by your shift supervisor. If it seemed like you were being honest then they would allow it as a one-off. If you were trouble you would be asked to leave and you would not be considered for more shifts that week, if a phone was discovered you would likely not be offered more shifts at all.
It seems like complete overkill but I've seen the other side. Whether it was office work, retail, manual work, restaurants etc. literally anything I've done, so many people have always seemed to get into trouble because they were using their phone. It didn't seem to matter how many threats, disciplinary actions, or final warnings they got, they were simply addicted to using their phone. Not just the occasional one or twice a day, but up to 20 minutes, 30 minutes, a full hour, and so on, whatever they could get away with.
One company I worked for even gave up. It was kind of ritual that, by the end of Thursdays and Fridays, supervisors disappeared and had their meetings in private to avoid the blatant widespread phone usage in the office. They had tried so many times, using both carrot and stick, to get their employees to stop using phones on their shifts. Despite everything they did nothing made an impact. So on those Thursdays and Fridays, work went out of the window, the supervisors gave up and sat in their rooms, and everyone got busy getting glued to their phones.
If I was a big cheese and was tasked with this, dealing with shift workers who think they're the real ones running the office, why waste even more weeks to months of productivity with disciplinary procedures- employee overviews- even potentially losing the good employees- when you can just take it all out of the equation. Get a security team, ask all employees to hand in their phone, bag it, secure it in a different room which is also guarded, offer an inconvenient process if they want it on their shift, and give them back at the end of the shift. Just get the phone. No threats, no warnings, no hassle - just get the phone.
Imagine the time and money you'd save. No more people distracted by their partners or video games or youtube. The expenditure on a small team of guards would be insignificant to that of the time and work lost on people who just can't let go of their phones. The amount of hours I've seen people glued on their phones when I have working have destroyed any sympathy for people having phones in a workplace. My only question is, why aren't companies treating phones as contraband already?
That policy is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary, especially considering this is a retail establishment. It is not like you're working for some contractor for Dept. of Defense with top-secret documents or nuclear reactors. I would quit, especially given how they also deny phone use during breaks and lunch. It seems as though this policy did not come to light until after you started working there, right? That too is very wrong of them to not disclose that rule before hiring you --as someone people, like as you say, would not be able to work with that due to other obligations in their lives.
I could even see the potential for a lawsuit against the employer in a situation where say, a family member is desperately needing to contact you in a dire emergency and can not reach you or is denied talking to you if they call the store phone.
I have seen cases like that happen, where a hospital had someone come in gravely injured, a next of kin tries to call the mother and was never given the message at work--finds out hours later her son died some time after being brought in. I would not only be livid, but I would sue my employer too (as she did).
It simply doesn't matter if it's DoD or K-Mart. You are being paid to WORK. that's it. Phone use at work is not a "right".
I suspect the rule about no having a cell phone on breaks might have everything to do with the cameras. Companies don't want the backlash when an employee jokingly films something they shouldn't and then posts it on YouTube.
That policy is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary, especially considering this is a retail establishment. It is not like you're working for some contractor for Dept. of Defense with top-secret documents or nuclear reactors. I would quit, especially given how they also deny phone use during breaks and lunch. It seems as though this policy did not come to light until after you started working there, right? That too is very wrong of them to not disclose that rule before hiring you --as someone people, like as you say, would not be able to work with that due to other obligations in their lives.
I could even see the potential for a lawsuit against the employer in a situation where say, a family member is desperately needing to contact you in a dire emergency and can not reach you or is denied talking to you if they call the store phone.
I have seen cases like that happen, where a hospital had someone come in gravely injured, a next of kin tries to call the mother and was never given the message at work--finds out hours later her son died some time after being brought in. I would not only be livid, but I would sue my employer too (as she did).
Your response is a bit over the top, don't you think? How many emergency calls do you get? If you need to be in constant contact with others, perhaps you shouldn't be working.
Location: In a rural place where people can't bother me ;)
516 posts, read 432,090 times
Reputation: 1009
Just agree to their policy and keep your phone on you on silent and use the restroom allot....problem solved. Thats what I do when I work in a refinery. What are they gonna do? Pat you down every day and randomly throughout the day?
No Cell phones, ipods or tablets. Period.
No Liquids during work time.
No messages will be taken, so don't expect to get any .
No jackets or any carry alls on the floor workarea. which means I cannt bring my purse into work. I had to buy a key chain to snap onto my waist belt for my car key.
So basically I cannot be hydrated , nor am I allowed to wear a extra sweater or carry one for days that it gets terribly cold in my workspace.
I'm waiting for them to "charge" us for breathing in oxygen , I'm sure like most things they'll want us to hold our breath
Let's pretend you work at Target. Or Home Depot. Or even Best Buy.
Do you see employees walking around on their phones/tablets? No.
How about drinking stuff on the floor? Nope.
If you have an EMERGENCY like the OP is concerned about, I'm sure they'd take THAT message. Otherwise you don't need to be getting messages at work.
You see employees wearing jackets? NO. That's how stuff gets stolen, just FYI, and they have a UNIFORM. Back in the day retail women had to carry clear purses, provided to them at work. Why should the employer have to provide an extra level of complications like lockers? Losing locks, forgetting to lock them, making claims they were "broken into", running back and forth TO AND FROM the locker, hiding stuff to STEAL in there, spilling food and leaving it all dirty and smelly...yada yada.
So basically your job's work rules are the same as every other typical one in the OP's scenario.
I'm more concerned about people who can't go 8 hours without talking on the cell phones. Try talking to your co-workers or to some strangers on your lunch break. You might enjoy the new experience.
Did no one even read the OP? Her question had nothing too do with "using the phone during work hours." It was about. being able to have the phone accessible in the event of an emergency - or being able to check in with their family member during breaks. That's it folks. As usual, any thread about cell phones gets used as an opportunity for the anti cell phone generation to get on their cell soap box.
Javacoffee even purports to manage the OP's break time and tell her how she should use HER time. SMH.
Did no one even read the OP? Her question had nothing too do with "using the phone during work hours." It was about. being able to have the phone accessible in the event of an emergency - or being able to check in with their family member during breaks. That's it folks. As usual, any thread about cell phones gets used as an opportunity for the anti cell phone generation to get on their cell soap box.
Javacoffee even purports to manage the OP's break time and tell her how she should use HER time. SMH.
No, I'm supporting the BOSS. You know what a boss is, right? He or she is the one who hires and enforces the rules. Either follow those rules or find another job. If there's a family problem, the family will call the place of business. If there's any emergency within the facility, the boss will surely have a means of calling for help. (Rolling my eyes)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blitzmark
Just agree to their policy and keep your phone on you on silent and use the restroom allot....problem solved. Thats what I do when I work in a refinery. What are they gonna do? Pat you down every day and randomly throughout the day?
Pat you down? Naw. I'd give you a choice. Either quit or go to a doctor to find out why you have to pee so much. When the doctor reports back that there is nothing wrong with your bowels, kidneys or bladder... you're fired. Don't forget to take your silent phone with you.
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