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Low quality, lazy, and immature workers will still be low quality, lazy, and immature with or without their cell phones.
I completely agree with this and it is a good point. I have seen it so much, I can predict future performance of employees with amazing accuracy. However, the good thing about a cell phone policy is it gives you the reason and leverage you need to get rid of an employee when one becomes a problem. All you have to do is cite the cell phone policy and how they habitually goof around on theirs at work. Its always good to have a policy that makes it easier to send them packing when you have a problem or just get fed up with being an adult babysitter.
I always had my cell phone with me at work and was always willing to look up something for a coworker (when i was not busy working on a task). Once it was looked up, the phone went back into my pocket. I see some people though that will stop working 15 minutes before break, start texting, leave for break 5 minutes early, come back from break 10 minutes late, and continue to text for another 20 minutes before getting back to work. If i were doing a plant tour i would take my business elsewhere.
we fired 3 people last week for IM usage. The top offender had 15000 sends and 11000 receives in one month. When my boss saw it he fired them all on the same day.
Years... no, decades ago almost everybody had a phone on their desk, or nearby. The phone rings, you answer it, have your conversation, then get back to work. Radios, also. How else would anybody have known JFK had been shot.
I have seen people walked off the job for 'just looking' at that cell phone. So, I guess it depends on the level of respect management expects.
My phone doesn't ring (intentionally), so text me and I'll call if I want to. Which explains why I'm commenting in a forum on a Friday night.
It has become a real problem in the work place and drastically reduces production. We have a policy restricting use to their personal time such as breaks and lunch, absolutely no use during work time. I have fired several for it after a couple of warnings. I have gotten to the point where my opinion is if they valued their job and had any respect for the company they would play with their phone on their own time and get the work done on ours, otherwise they can hit the road as far as I am concerned. I have very little patience for it anymore.
Enforcement is the only way to prevent use. I worked on a locked psychiatric unit a few years ago. The staff who were responsible for watching the patients routinely played with their cell phones. Keep in mind that most of these patients were hospitalized involuntarily, due to an imminent lethal threat of harm towards themselves or others. The agency who ran the hospital had strict rules against staff having a cell phone in their possession, unless they were on break, and not in an area where they could be seen by patients. This behavior continued nonetheless, because managers did not enforce the policy.
I have particular problem with salespeople who use cell phones in front of customers. My wife and I went to a Honda dealership, to inquire about purchasing a $25,000 vehicle. Throughout our entire visit, the salesman had a Bluetooth headset on. Whenever he spoke to me, I was fixated on that blue light that was blinking continuously, waiting for a call. The salesman did not actually take a call while he was trying to sell me a new car, but the mere presence of the headset told me that I was not as important to him. Clearly, he was waiting on a call from someone who was more important.
End result? A nearby Hyundai dealership is now $25,000 richer.
we fired 3 people last week for IM usage. The top offender had 15000 sends and 11000 receives in one month. When my boss saw it he fired them all on the same day.
Wow! If I am doing my math correctly, that's roughly one TXT message sent every 6-7 minutes, during business hours. (assuming a 8 hour work day and 20 days of work per month). I hope they had an unlimited TXT plan!!
It is the nature of many jobs that less than 100% of the time spent at work will actually be occupied with work. In such slow periods it seems burdensome to many employees (especially younger employees) to not be allowed quiet cell phone usage, as the company has nothing to lose.
Cell phones, and especially smartphones with all their features (camera, GPS, etc.), can boost productivity as well as hinder it. They are just like the internet (and increasingly social media): on one hand, they're an amazing waste of time, but on the other hand, some people do not know how they did business without them.
It's the managers job to enforce the policy. I was a manager at a fast food restaurant in high school and cell phones were a huge problem. Other managers wouldn't enforce the policy and so all of the other kids working would think they could text whenever they wanted. Then, I would work and would discipline them accordingly. They would often get mad because "so and so let's us use our phones." The best way for companies to deal with cell phones at work is to have a strict policy and make sure everyone follows and enforces it.
I have a productive chemotherapy nurse who has to have her cell all the time. We have asked that everyone keep there cells in a draw and on vibrate. And we have given them back line phone numbers to give to there family members for emergencies. Everyone was told they can check there phones every so often. But this one person is the only one does not think it applies to her. It is disrespectful to her co-workers and patients. And could cause her to make a mistake or forget to do something.
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