What do you people think is a reasonable policy at work with these of cell phones? My wife and I own our own business that isn't open to the public and very rarely ever have client show up so we have very relaxed working environment but, one issue is people texting, playing with or answering stupid calls from their kids on their cell phones. Some have young kids that need to take calls from a school if an emergency come up but most don't. Any good policies out their that works for employer and employee?
I think it really depends on how your employees use/abuse the privilege of being able to use their phone. If the work is getting done, I wouldn't do anything. If it isn't then something would need to be done. I've seen everything up to having to put them in a locker so they can't use them. Schools have been able to get ahold of parents long before cell phones.
Most use a "no excessive use" policy which requires self-policing. But really it depends on the kind of business, some require full attention and full 8 hours of work, in which case having set break-times to make and take calls is probably best. You can pretty much tell if someone is talking to a friend or playing Candy Crush.
I can probably dig up an acceptable use policy if you want and that will help. Not sure what your business is but cell phones also pose a security risk in the form of data leakage and such. Such as taking a picture of company records... yada yada.. You get the point. Also you want to make sure everyone has read and acknowledges the policy meaning they sign something.
My work has a policy in which if you aren't given a stipend (allowance) for your phone then you can only use at break or lunch. People like me who get the stipend have permission to use their phones other than break and lunch for BUSINESS purposes. But there is absolutely zero enforcement as long as the work is getting done. Matter of fact I'm at work right now Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Here is a template that might be helpful. https://d2oc0ihd6a5bt.cloudfront.ne...ile_Device_Acceptable_Use_Policy_Template.pdf
Whether you enforce a policy or not, it is best to have one because it protects you incase you need to let somebody go.
Honestly, with computers and the ability to do a lot of work with a couple of key strokes, a lot of jobs have downtime....if they are at their desks waiting for the next surge of work, what would you prefer they do? Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
If I had to talk to someone about being on their phone too much there is a much bigger problem. I personally don't feel like micro managing at that level would be conducive to the team culture I want to build. With that said, if there is a significant performance problem that I need to address, I'll certainly address the phone use in that scenario if it's excessive.
Thanks all. The work is light industrial and never any real down time but we're really flexible on their hours. It's an honor system of signing in when you get there and signing out for lunch etc. Most people I don't know problem with but a few people, younger girls seem to be abusing it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Phones to young girls is like crack cocaine. The orthodontist office where my wife works has a lot of young girl employees and they'd just about rather get fired than leave their phone in their lockers where they're supposed to be. I read an interesting study about how addicted our brains are becoming to technological and electronic stimulus. It's replacing a lot of our traditional social interaction and also cuts into our overall functionality. Crazy Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Our hourly employees that work out in the warehouse are required to leave their phones in their lockers and can use them on break and lunch. Mostly a safety reason since they are operating equipment. For the office, there's no real policy. Everyone has one and everyone spends time on them. As long as it doesn't affect performance, it's a none issue for us.
My company has a no phone policy but I'm extremely relaxed on it... I don't see an issue with them texting occasionally (especially considering they are skipping their 15 minute breaks anyway). I only address it during busy times or if it becomes an issue on a case by case basis. That said, I'm young and see things much differently than I would 20 years from now most likely. I just have a "get things done" mentality. We all work as a team to accomplish that day's goals... no sense in running a sweat shop if happy employees can create the same outcome. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I work in a flour mill and our official policy is no phones inside the mill. Supposed to leave phones in lockers and use them on breaks. But it's not enforced or followed by anyone lol. As a miller, I pretty much run the entire place and have to be in contact with managers of different departments on a regular basis and they call and even text me all the time. So while our official rule is no phones, management knows we need the phones for communication so they don't enforce it. Text messaging is probably the most utilized form of communication around here these days. It's obviously very loud inside the mills and unless your sitting in the control office where we have a land line, you'll never hear anyone calling for you. Most people check their phones often enough that texting just becomes easier and faster than calling an office phone repeatedly hoping someone is there to pick up. Some people here do spend way to much time on their phones and they usually get talked to about it if it becomes a problem, but mostly as long as work is getting done no one is saying anything
Hazardous area Class 2, Div. 1 for explosive dust. We have Class 1 Div 1 areas for explosive gases / fumes but we have so many sniffers that if there was a problem we would know way before the phone in our pocket ignited anything. We just leave in our pocket in those areas Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Zero cell phones while at work. Plain and simple. Not paying you to text or google stuff. Always something to do.
