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[Lambtron]

Agreed. My self worth is too high to be treated like that 40+ hours a week.

Ding ding ding. It's not my problem if you hire people who can't act like adults. I should not be treated like a child because of them.

 

[norm9]

Just tell them no you will not check in your phone. Go from there.

I wouldn't go with the nuclear option of quitting and getting another job so quickly.

 

[apocalidiot]

Unless it's super easy to find another job, it's just a phone. I'm not saying its right, but to quit your job over it? What do you do on your phone during work that is worth quitting your job over it?

 

[John Kowalski]

As an employer I often consider implementation of just such a policy, we had an employee who became very unpopular with customers due to using headphones while at work and barely talking to them. Not ideal in a bar as small talk with the bar staff is a important part of customer interaction.

I'm considering creating a file where phones must be turned off and placed in the office upon starting a shift, they can be retrieved at shift's end.

Also if you're serious about job hunting because of this, you should think about your priorities.

Don't they have lockers of some kind? Tell them to leave it there, or even better, have them put all their phones behind the counter. If they need them they'll be there, but if they don't need them they don't touch them. That's how i worked. Phones were indispensable because i'd have to call the boss/suppliers/whoever was out shopping at the time but otherwise i'd only use them on breaks, or if the whole place was dead and super boring.

 

[HawksWinStanley]

I hate companies that treat their employees like children.

Trust them to do their job. Don't take away phones or limit internet access. Will some slack off? Sure. Judge everyone on their work output. If an employee gets their job done and does it well, who cares if they browse the internet here and there? Conversely, why do you want an employee who sucks but is always on task?

I don't get it.

Bingo.

My office is starting to slant this way. We still hold traditional office hours, but in respect to work output - you're given deadlines and expected to meet them with quality work. That's it. Hell, I have shows playing on Netflix on my phone while I work because I like listening to them and blocking out the other office noise and I'll text from time to time.

Nobody in my department has missed a deadline in the entire time I've been here and more often then not deadlines are hit days ahead of time.

 

[Dusk Soldier]

I work in an office. Two coworkers got into an arguing. It came out that one of them always slacks off. So now when we get into wotk, we check our phones in and then check them out when we leave.

Is it odd that I'm considering job hunting over this?

Millennials Would Quit Job If Phones Were Banned At Work

Are you a Millenial OP?

 

[JMDSO]

My company (machine shop) tried to restrict phone access with confiscating phones as an option. They didn't choose to do so, just came up with a phone usage policy where you'd get written up if you used your phone outside of breaks and lunch.

It lasted a few months and like anything else went by the wayside for the most part.

 

[acksman]

Happening more and more. Quite a few call centers make you locker your phone and not allowed on the floor.

Depends on the type of job, but I can see this becoming the norm.

 

[Lightning Count]

Your bar sounds like a pleasant place that I'd like to visit. Whereabouts?

Not sure if genuine or sarcastic.

Either way I am not giving out those details.

 

[h1nch]

Yeah I'd never work at a place that had that kind of policy, or any similar type of policy.

If people are found to be slacking off on company time, the proper solution is to fire those people and replace them with competent workers.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Holy shit, that's dumb.

I mean, I've worked at Burger King and retail and campus dining. In all those times, I didn't have to give up my phone, but I always kept it on my person.

That said, since being in the white-collar world for the last ~4 years; there is zero chance I would be okay with that, unless it was for security reasons.

Right now I'm at my desk with three screens - two have work on them, one has NeoGAF and iTunes. I have my cellphone open for texts I'm sending to both clients and to friends.

My phone is indispensable to my job, yes. But in addition to that, I have too much dignity to be treated like a child for 40+ hours a week.

 

[shintoki]

Why does the one colleague care about the other one slacking?

If he is doing his job who cares if he is slacking or taking a long break. Just do your own job.

Never had a group project before?

If they are working together and one is on the phone all day. Damn right I would yell at his ass.

 

[Simon Belmont]

I'd say no and let them try and fire me for not letting them take my phone away. Probably helps that I don't live anywhere with at will employment.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

One of my college teachers had a mom who was incredibly ill. During his time, cellphones weren't present, so while he was out of the house, they kept calling and calling so he can spend some final moments with her.

He didn't get back until later that night, and she had already passed away.

When I got in a car accident, one of the people at the scene was able to call my parents before being taken to the hospital and put on a bunch of drugs. Had they not done so, my parents wouldn't have known where I was for a whole day.

People underestimate the usage of cell phones, and trying to ban them is like putting a tiny band aid on a bigger problem.

Again, nobody died and this is for situations calling outside of work. Not calling into work where you don't have your phone and can be contacted by other methods.

 

[Glass Shark]

I don't think it's odd that you're considering job hunting. I see this situation as not really being about the phone, but about the company's mismanagement. If your leadership has decided to punish an entire staff over some drama between two people (one of which doesn't even work there anymore), then they don't know how to really run a business.

 

[apocalidiot]

Millennials Would Quit Job If Phones Were Banned At Work

Are you a Millenial OP?

re: this video - can't you do the "life maintaining" tasks on your computer?

 

[E92 M3]

I've always followed the mantra of letting employees do their job and allow a certain amount of freedoms. The only thing that matters is the job getting done.

 

[Euphoria14]

I never got this myself. There is a tattletail in our office too who concerns himself with what time people are coming and leaving and complains to the mgr. Do your own fucking job. Cripes.

Depends on the situation really.

I have a person in my department who slacks off all the time and is constantly playing on his phone. He gets the boss to believe he is constantly swamped with work to the point where the work started getting pushed onto me. There are aspects of his job that I have had to cover for 11 months now. Stuff that used to be 30-40% of his daily work.

Not possible to stay quiet and just "do your own job" in that case, since his job is in effect become my job now.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Entitlement of the younger generation is running unchecked.

I'm old and think policies like this are bullshit. Trust your people to do the right thing and deal with the ones that don't individually and directly.

The making of sweeping generalizations by the old generation is running unchecked.

As an employer I often consider implementation of just such a policy, we had an employee who became very unpopular with customers due to using headphones while at work and barely talking to them. Not ideal in a bar as small talk with the bar staff is a important part of customer interaction.

I'm considering creating a file where phones must be turned off and placed in the office upon starting a shift, they can be retrieved at shift's end.

Can we please get a LTTP thread started before you implement this policy so we can be updated as you see the reactions to this?

Also if you're serious about job hunting because of this, you should think about your priorities.

If you're willing to treat your employees like children or assumed slackers, you should think about how you treat your employees.

 

[Lightning Count]

I'm old and think policies like this are bullshit. Trust your people to do the right thing and deal with the ones that don't individually and directly.

The making of sweeping generalizations by the old generation is running unchecked.



Can we please get a LTTP thread started before you implement this policy so we can be updated as you see the reactions to this?



If you're willing to treat your employees like children or assumed slackers, you should think about how you treat your employees.

As I said earlier, I am probably not going to do this unless it becomes a problem. As of right now, since the troublesome employee left things are ok.

 

[RoadHazard]

Bonuses are competitive based on individual performance. If got are the top ranked employee for the month, you get a five hundred dollar bonus

Ugh, that actually also sounds pretty awful to me. Sure, a chance to get a bonus would be nice, but making it a competition between employees can't be very conducive to good work relationships and teamwork.

 

[Boko21]

Also if you're serious about job hunting because of this, you should think about your priorities.

Working at a place where you are treated with respect seems like a pretty appropriate priority to me.

 

[subrock]

Fuck that. This is a classic case of bad management. Lack of drive and motivation is not a case of too many distractions, it's an indication that you need to give your staff varied and interesting work. I would be out of there in a heartbeat

It's weird the hold-onto-job-at-all-costs mentality on gaf. Your happiness as a human should take precedence. Things always work out when you quit

 

[PandaShake]

Turning in my phone sounds humiliating like I'm not a trusted employee. Personally, I would job hunt.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Somehow we as a society managed this for decades prior to everyone having cell phones.

And then we invented modern conveniences. My company doesn't even have office phones. We're 100% a cell phone operated company. I don't even have a house phone!

 

[Number_6]

Not at all, people working in a bar should be focused on the customers, not their phones. You sound like a shitty employee if you think it's ok to stand on your phone whilst working in a bar.

Nobody said that.

So many debates here at GAF are carried on by assumptions of black or white ONLY. (Yes, it happens in politics too, it's stupid, shitty, and damaging, really).

If one person thinks the bar employer sounds shitty for his policy, that does not automatically mean that that person thinks an employee should be able to stand around on his phone all day at work.

It means that the policy is shitty. There are other solutions.

For instance, that one employee at the bar can simply be told not to use his headphones at work. Done.

 

[brisk tacos]

People who would quit their job no questions asked over not being able to have your phone on you...how old are you and how into your phone are you? Did you work before the time of ubiquitous cell phones? Is this more of an issue of being treated like children, or being upset that your entertainment at work is taken away?

 

[Rad-]

I actually don't see anything wrong with this. I have worked in a company where phone usage was banned but people still used them a lot when managers weren't around (late evening and night shifts). So something like this would help against that.

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

Halarious. When I was going through middle and highschool during early 2000s, phones wern't aloud in schools, but now they don't care. And what happens now? Work places banning phones.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

Fuck that. This is a classic case of bad management. Lack of drive and motivation is not a case of too many distractions, it's an indication that you need to give your staff varied and interesting work. I would be out of there in a heartbeat

Because work should be an adult kindergarten where the little darlings should not be bored while they are being paid. The very nature of some jobs is monotony that's why the job exists at all , pay someone else to do it.

 

[psylah]

Working without a cell phone in your pocket? Unthinkable. How can we be expected to work like this?

 

[ZackieChan]

And then we invented modern conveniences. My company doesn't even have office phones. We're 100% a cell phone operated company. I don't even have a house phone!

Well, what I said works on the assumption that there are, indeed, office phones. If the boss is effectively cutting off all communication to and from work, then that is unacceptable.

 

[Future]

Fire the people that slack off at work. Don't ban the things they do when they slack off.

 

[Heimbeck]

Halarious. When I was going through middle and highschool during early 2000s, phones wern't aloud in schools, but now they don't care. And what happens now? Work places banning phones.

It's pretty much your fault, I hope you are happy.

 

[GravityMan]

I'd be looking for another job ASAP if my company enacted that phone policy.

OP, what your company should have done is just get rid of the low-performing employee. If his manager has a poor track record of hiring people, then he/she needs to be replaced too.

Good, mature hires are responsible about personal cell phone usage while at work (only using them for urgent matters and for taking other brief calls in moderation) and they still get their work done and perform at a high level. If the position is public-facing then the person knows not to yak on his phone while in front of waiting customers...that's just common sense.

Well-run companies don't have lame phone policies like that (except high security places). There's no need for them. They treat their employees like adults and don't micromanage.

 

[subrock]

Because work should be an adult kindergarten where the little darlings should not be bored while they are being paid. The very nature of some jobs is monotony that's why the job exists at all , pay someone else to do it.

I don't think it's that wild to expect to be treated like an adult at your job. If you're happy with the bridle in your mouth, so be it, but there's no way I'm living like that.

 

[Zoe]

Is my first career job. I find the company for the most part enjoyable. But with this, there is a pride issue. Fuck this. Updating my linkedin

How long have you been there? You'll need to come up with a better reason when you're interviewing around.

 

[Amentallica]

Because work should be an adult kindergarten where the little darlings should not be bored while they are being paid. The very nature of some jobs is monotony that's why the job exists at all , pay someone else to do it.

Policies like this are not conducive to productivity. It creates animosity and distrust, two things that could have been avoided had the goal in mind been sought by different means. There are several ways to increase efficiency while limiting phone use. The employer should be focusing on the why this is an issue to begin with. This may seem like a proactive approach, but in reality it's invasive, grade-school management.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

I don't think it's that wild to expect to be treated like an adult at your job. If you're happy with the bridle in your mouth, so be it, but there's no way I'm living like that.

When did, business owners should not let their staff get bored change to don't treat them like children? Your reply is totally different to the point you made that I responded too.

 

[Mercury Fred]

Bail, but they now need to pay 100% of everyone's cell service and phones.

 

[FonkyByNature]

Fuck this. I often receive calls from my wife and/or family for many things. Sometimes it's very urgent. It's not like i'm browsing porn at work on my phone and do nothing. I get work done !

But my phone is private matters and the 1 minute i take to answer a call or text is not that bad. I don't even take my brakes at work.

 

[Ovid]

Why does the one colleague care about the other one slacking?

I never got this myself. There is a tattletail in our office too who concerns himself with what time people are coming and leaving and complains to the mgr. Do your own fucking job. Cripes.

If a result of their slacking causes an increase of you or your coworkers workload, then I don't see a problem with snitching.

If your going out of your way to look and what other people are doing (and it has no direct effect to your job), then that's a problem.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Nope. I'm an adult at a job, this isn't a punish everyone kindergarten class.

I wouldn't quit so fast though. I had a job that tried to search people to make sure our phones were up. That didn't even last a day.

 

[True Savior]

I honestly cannot believe something like this is implemented in 2015 in a civilized society.

 

[Doran902]

Don't quit might not last long. The attention and complaints it will bring form the entire office and what it will do to morale will overshadow a couple lazy workers I think.

 

[criesofthepast]

As an employer I often consider implementation of just such a policy, we had an employee who became very unpopular with customers due to using headphones while at work and barely talking to them. Not ideal in a bar as small talk with the bar staff is a important part of customer interaction.

I'm considering creating a file where phones must be turned off and placed in the office upon starting a shift, they can be retrieved at shift's end.

Also if you're serious about job hunting because of this, you should think about your priorities.

While everyone else disagrees with you, I would say absolutely do it.

From the sounds of it you work at a restauraunt with service staff. Cell phones have no place on the floor by wait staff or barmen while working with customers. A barman with headphones on, seriously? What kind of stupidity is that?

If you want to take a peak back in the kitchen or when business is slow then okay, but while attending to customers that is a big no-no of customer service. It is also common in many customer service places (retail stores and restaraunts) to not allow phones during work.

 

[gosox333]

jesus careers aren't exactly easy to come by

i'd do it in a heartbeat if it meant having stable income for now and years to come. it's just a phone.

 

[Symphonia]

I work in an office. Two coworkers got into an arguing. It came out that one of them always slacks off. So now when we get into wotk, we check our phones in and then check them out when we leave.

Is it odd that I'm considering job hunting over this?

Not odd. Unless you work somewhere where confidential data is handled (government, finance, etc) then no company has the right to insist you check in your phone before each shift. I'd bail hard, man.

 

[Icedburden]

As an employer I often consider implementation of just such a policy, we had an employee who became very unpopular with customers due to using headphones while at work and barely talking to them. Not ideal in a bar as small talk with the bar staff is a important part of customer interaction.

I'm considering creating a file where phones must be turned off and placed in the office upon starting a shift, they can be retrieved at shift's end.

Also if you're serious about job hunting because of this, you should think about your priorities.

This guy gets it.
I work for the government, so there's no phones ANYWHERE. Your phone curbs productivity, not encourages.

 

[BubbaMc]

Phones are banned on our site, I don't really have a problem with it.