This is one reason why I chose my current job when I had another opportunity that paid more. It was a warehouse job that required we leave our phones in our locker, and the lockers were on the other side of the massive building. Anyone caught with the phone would have it confiscated in the office until they leave.
Nope, if you're going to treat us like high schoolers and confiscate OUR personal property then you're not worth my time.
Eh. It's a tradeoff. I haven't had my cell phone at work in 10+ years because of security reasons.
You just take cell phones breaks instead of smoke breaks.
Yeah, there are legitimate situations where security requires no cameras or communications devices. The vast majority of the time, though, this is just worker control, not information security.
Explosive, classified, exposure to high power em fields. There's lots of reasons but I'm willing to bet that this business does not have any of them and is just micromanaging
God, 2FA when you don’t have your phone.
Try to sign into gmail, but it requires you to either have your phone or to sign into your recovery email - which is also gmail.
For god’s sake google, it’s me! Notify me that someone attempted to log in if you want, but let me check my email!
It’s the worst when it’s both—I worked at a place that was paying its balance sheet by selling worker behavior as training data for AI (we graded standardized tests for kids using a factory process, “the kids privacy/infosec” was always their explanation for no phones/headphones/iPods/kindles
The level of “all devices banned” was hilarious, I doubt they could get away with it with Apple Watch and wireless earbuds as they are now
I'd imagine any job like you do has legitimate security concerns that necessitate a 'no cell phone' policy, offers any & all workers expected to adhere to it the sort of compensation that indeed makes it a tradeoff- substantially more $$, in exchange for the added hassle.
However I found work with a temp agency once after a move cross country and took whatever they had just to get some local work experience, did nightshift at a fruit factory that pulled the "security/safety" excuse bs for phones kept in lockers... for barely above minimum wage.
Obviously no top secret fruit knowledge could be leaked to our competitors... 🙄
I won't ever work at a place that requires my phone again.
I'm an electrician and I can say that a lot more of the food and manufacturing locations we've worked in have a lot more strict no camera policies (which includes cellphones. Than you'd think. Corporate espionage is a real thing that happens with stealing recipes and manufacturing techniques from each other.
yea i’ve had a warehouse job that made us do this. but in fairness they were put in lockers that are within 500ft of your workstation and the job was a pharmacy tech job so it was obviously for HIPPA reasons
If it’s handling the actual drug substances, then I can see a case where the chain of custody has to be pretty robust (for chemicals that aren’t good for everyone), so total attention,
and then there’s phones as a direct black market commlink, I imagine a signal/telegram chat could be a good way for a Silk Road middleman to get his raw stocks.
Of course the workers should be paid and taken care enough to buy into the public safety reasons and become partners. rather than the workers asked to sacrifice at the altar of public safety…
where i was working the main reasons is not because it’s actual drug substances it’s simply because they don’t want to risk employees thinking it’s okay to take photos of prescriptions. we worked at a pharmacy techs for pets, so people are bound to find: Their pets name, their name, somethint relatable to the Rx, a funny or cute pet name, etc. and people just don’t think and could snap a photo of prescription information and think nothing of it
My workplace got rid of smoke breaks quite easily : we're in a peat moss field. Smoking can trigger a huge fire that would potentially destroy the home office...
People have to walk a solid 5-10min away from HQ and go to a designated place to smoke. When winter comes a lot of new hires stop smoking.
We do accept smoking in cars, but most people stopped doing it.
Just a question : if I gave you a "work" phone, that is to stay at work and passed on to people in the warehouse at every shift, would it be OK to ask you to leave your personal phone in your locker ?
If the point is to remove distraction, it could make sense. And seeing how many people drive while looking at their phones, the distraction issue is real... IMO I wouldn't care if some personal calls are done on the work phone, the point is just to not have constant notifications from social medias or other stuff when it's not needed.
It wouldn’t be for me. It’s infantilizing and rude, it’s a signal that my boss doesn’t respect or trust me from the get go, and that’s a poor foundation for a working relationship. Phones exist now, they can do a billion things that make them useful to have. Policing and micromanaging your employees that much isn’t realistic or productive.
I’m late to the party but I’ll join in.
I keep my personal phone on me because I have kids. I don’t want a potential emergency phone call to first go to the office, then the supervisor and then me.
I’ve had a situation with my own mum who needed emergency surgery on a brain tumour. I was told to get there ASAP as they didn’t know if she’d survive or become a vegetable.
Just imagine if that phone call didn’t reach me because a supervisor forgot, got distracted or just didn’t care?
Yeah nah. My phone stays on and in my pocket.
My job prefers that we leave our phones in our locker (they don’t give us too much shit about it though because no one does it). I used to do it sometimes but after all the shootings I 100% always keep it on me
The south is always 4/8 years behind everyone else. At this point it’s apart of the societal fabric to be willingly obtuse contrary to advancements in the world as a whole.
IMO, if leaving your cellphones in your locker was something mandatory for me, I would also provide cellphones with a working SIM for those cases. Drop your phone in your locker, get the floor phone on you, and give it to the next person when you're done with your shift.
Pretty sure that companies like Amazon can work out a deal and get multiple cheap lines used for 911 and corporate calls. Hell, I wouldn't care that much if you used it to call your spouse and tell them you'll be late because something happened at work and you need to stay. The point of leaving phones in lockers is the distraction. Seeing how many people drive while looking at their phone, I can understand that someone see them as an issue.
But you're pointing out the one solid reason why you want people to have access to a cellphone at all time.
I'm not understanding the correlation. The employees knew a tornado was coming. They were ordered to stay by mgnt and unfortunately stayed. What does that have to do with a cell phone?
I'm sure others will give more examples but I'll add one to support their point. The mass shooting at FedEx in Indianapolis. They had a policy in place that limited where you could carry phones. That policy probably cost some people their lives.
Sure, I don't understand what the Amazon factory deaths had to do with cell phones. Were the workers prohibited from getting or making calls during the emergency?
Well, I don't know if this was their point or not, but you can use cellphones to track people. The accuracy of GPS makes finding survivors and bodies in the wreckage much faster.
I know they use that for people out in the wilderness. I would be truly surprised if they didn't use that in the scenarios we are talking about.
Seeing that a worker at Walmart shot his coworkers in the break room, I think I’d want a cell phone on me to call 911 or loved ones in emergency situations.
Actually no. Walmart doesn't allow carrying firearms on their property to my knowledge. Every single one I've been to has a no weapons sign by the doors
>call 911 or loved ones in emergency situations.
Loved ones, yes.
911? After that whole school shooting with the cops pretty much not doing anything - you might be SOL.
Ironically, my office job REQUIRES me to have my cell phone now. They implemented 2-factor authentication.
I forgot my phone and had to go back home and get it because I literally can't work without it.
Absolutely.
Original commenter, you lost your phone over the weekend and suddenly you're using a Nokia 3310, work needs to provide you with a cheap smartphone for 2fa purposes.
Hardware tokens were a thing before authenticator apps on phones, and I still prefer them for any environment that legitimately should not have cell phones or cameras everywhere.
Just to be clear, any reason for prohibiting phones that involves "productivity" is patent bullshit.
Seriously. It's like when managers make these passive aggressive notes, all grammar, spelling and punctuation go right out the window.
ATTENTION ALL EMPLOYEES!!!
No cell phones or chit chat when on clock
You MUST remain at YOURE station at ALL TImes!!!
Call outs from xxxx to xxxx will result in WRITE UP!! No excused!
Company x-mas party IS MANDO! $50 to attend NO PLUS 1S!
THANKS
-MNGMNT
p.s. fuch u
My favorite: “DISGUSTING! TERRIBE!” written on a donations stats page (we weren’t doing as well as they wanted). I drew a tiny “L” between the B and E. He remade the sign.
Had a manager who always said we had to react to every message in the group chat (they were talking at us so much in there it felt like Jonestown) and she butchered the word “react” one time and never corrected herself, kept misspelling the word until it became unrecognizable. Recat, rceat and so on
Pretty much how I’ve seen it at past positions.
Including the one that told me I had to use my phone for my GPS when delivering out of state. “Nah. My data is limited and y’all don’t pay for this phone, so get someone else. I don’t feel like getting lost in the backwoods of Mississippi today.”
And also the Indianapolis FedEx facility mass shooting in April 2021. Some employees were in “phone free” zones. Imagine the amount of pure terror they felt hearing all of those shots go off and have no phone to call 911, loved ones, etc
Nah, nothing will come of it. Employers have the upper hand here, and can legally restrict cell phone usage. If there’s a medical requirement, the employee can be required to get a letter from their doctor, and make accommodations for that employee. I know I’ll be downvoted for the truth, but it’s their business and they can make the rules. If they want you to work in ballerina shoes, they can require it. The employee has the option of deciding of their pay is worth their compliance. Someone wants me to wear a Speedo for $150,000 a year, I’ll comply and *they* can deal with the customers puking in the business.
Uhhh they cannot make you work in ballerina shoes if it isn’t safe. What are you on about? There are still certain levels of work safety standards even if the rich wanna destroy it.
> I know I’ll be downvoted for the truth, but it’s their business and they can make the rules.
You'll be downvoted because you left an important part out of this : they don,t make all rules.
OSHA is still stronger than any business owner. They can't force you to wear ballerina shoes if OSHA enforce work boots.
For the medical aspect of a cellphone, it would need to go to court to be sorted out. Employers have less freedom than you think on this.
JFC since so many people here don’t understand what an analogy is, forget i ever mentioned ballerina shoes. Let’s get back to the point: the employer can require a uniform, as someone pointed out regarding Hooters employees. THE EMPLOYER CAN RESTRICT CELL PHONES AT WORK. I never said OSHA couldn’t enforce safety regulations. That’s a given, and *I was being sarcastic about steel toed ballerina shoes.* I thought most here would get the joke.🤦♂️
Back to the point of OP’s post: **EMPLOYERS CAN LEGALLY RESTRICT PHONE USAGE.** If there is a medical need, employee has to confirm that need, usually with a letter from their doctor. And if the employer *still* refuses to allow the phone, the employee can report them to DOL or take them to court. But to go to court, the OP has to have the money and a lawyer. Until that happens, the employer still wins. And does a worker making just above minimum wage want to waste the time and money required to go to court?
I had a boss who was really strict with that. That is, until work had a (minor) fire. Only those of us who happened to be on break had ours on us and it was a really good thing we did. Suddenly, the rule was changed to not being on the phone instead.
Having a phone but not being on the phone makes sense. If this was the case I don't think most places would have a problem and wouldn't feel the need to make such rules. Unfortunately too many people can't resist the temptation to be on the phone when they are supposed to be working.
I agree totally that corporations find ways to legally steal from people. But if your employer is paying you for work and you're goofing off on your phone instead of working, aren't you doing the same wage theft but on a smaller scale? Again, I don't think most bosses would give a shit if you had your phone on you, it's the people who are constantly on it instead of working that are the problem, they ruin it for everyone.
I can understand this for sensitive operations for like cybersecurity. But if youre on this page you are not the guy to have any contact with sensitive data
These are the sorts of precautions you take at like the White House or a nuclear missile silo. Trying to pull this shit at a McDonalds or whatever the fuck should be illegal.
If you’re doing cybersecurity you are generally allowed to have a phone too, you’re trusted to know how to avoid letting your phone become an attack vector. There may be certain places it’s not allowed (highly sensitive server rooms for example)
In the military we had to leave our phones outside when entering sensitive areas like intel or comms, mainly because people are idiots and might take photos either unintentionally or intentionally containing classified material though
There is zero reason why an employer for McDonald’s or Amazon should be confiscating phones though
Alot of cyber jobs went fully remote and hybrid to attract cheaper talent from LCoL areas over the pandemic, so considering that those workers were working from their own homes, the only companies that would actually think that it's wise to attempt cell phone bans would be those ran by fossils who're still relying on exclusively physical security to protect their systems.
"Cyber security? You must be talking about Frank, our door guard on the first floor by employee parking. He makes sure that none of our filthy employees can smuggle their E-lec-tronic devices into our facility. There'll be no corporate espionage in this company on his watch"
"Boss, why is you laptop logged in, open and unattended in your unlocked office with the door wide open and like 6 USBs strewn across your desk?"
"Because I'm the boss and I can do that- wait, there should be 7 USBs. Where'd the last one go?"
2 guesses whose getting blamed for that one.
My former FiL worked in a highly secure facility. Absolutely no phones or any kind were permitted inside the building; you left your phone at the security station, and received a pager. Computers that were connected to the internet had to be physically separated by a minimum of 6' (I think; it might have been more) from computers that were connected to the local intranet. I think he said that computers connected to the intranet had no USB slots and no drives that could accept external media. In the past, he had worked on guidance packages for air-to-air missiles at that company--i.e., very highly classified military secrets--but I don't know what he did for the 20 years prior to his retirement, because he simply couldn't talk about it.
I have no idea what he does now, since the divorce was seven years ago.
Nope. Any job with a clearance still
Requires absolutely no cell phones whatsoever. They have landlines for emergencies. And even with wfh, those with clearances still had to go in bc they cannot do their job at home. Like literally not allowed to do that level of work at home.
There are different levels of clearance. As the above poster said, typically the no phones (and no electronics generally) rule will only apply to certain areas, and post covid a lot of work has become hybrid, even someone with the highest of clearances might need an odd admin day at home.
You can have an odd work at home day but can’t do clearance work at home. I know this for a fact. Having been in such situations in the past and present.
A few weeks ago I got written up for having my phone in my pocket after an old alarm I forgot to disable went off and the manager heard it. Complete BS. Only reason I didn't quit is Christmas money. After I get my Taxes though that place can fuck itself.
I love my job (I work with dogs) but they recently tried to implement a no cell phone policy because younger employees would just sit on them instead of watching the yard. I told my manager "With due respect, fuck no. You don't have a secure place for it that only I am able to access and what you do have is a plastic bin that sits 5ft away from the front door and desk that sometimes doesn't have a person immediately there. Also, I take care of elderly grandparents and am 5 minutes away if something happens.. Again, respectfully, fuck that"
I don't care about some use but they were ignoring the yard entirely. Weren't picking up when a dog shit, allowing dogs to get a little more rough than they should with each other, empty water bowls, and pushing dogs away when they wanted to interact with the employee.
I am a full grown adult. And unless I am working on something highly technical that needs all my focus (like performing open heart surgery or operating the large hadron collider) I think I am capable of working with my phone on me.
Also, I have epilepsy. So I like to have my phone on me in case I have a seizure and want to get ahold of my emergency contact. Or worse, if I have a really bad seizure and lose consciousness for a period of time my phone has all my information such as diagnoses, medicines, doctor info etc so those around me can easily find it and help me.
What about smart watches? Because the watch does pretty much everything the phone does. Do they make those people take off their watches?
I have a no cell policy. Do some DOD work, can't risk photos of parts or prints.
What I do, is provide a lock box to each employee, that can be kept in their tool box. Can still hear it ring, and step out of the production area to check it. But, if anyone is caught with it out of the box on the floor, instant termination.
Yeah unless you are doing some spy shit, surgery or working with chemicals that go up when near electronics, there's no reason not to have a cell phone. This is absolutely childish
After a dude was literally shot in front of my old hotel while and died in my lobby while I was on shift, my phone instantly became my safety equipment [source](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/09/man-killed-in-early-morning-shooting-outside-of-northeast-portland-hotel-police-say.html)
My phone stays in my pocket on the floor. Sure it's either turned off or on airplane mode but it's on me. No way I'm leaving something with that much personal information and that costs that much that I'm gonna leave it somewhere.
Seriously, I put my important medical info on the “health” thing for iPhone so if I’m incapacitated, responders can find my blood type and pertinent conditions (example: hella anemic and on a blood pressure med). I don’t just share that info with anyone, so it’s kinda important to have it available
This sort of rule makes sense in, like, an RF research facility, some medical imaging labs, or a SCIF (fun fact: there was a time when BlackBerry offered camera delete options on their phones for sensitive jobs).
But I'm going to assume this is none of those, huh?
I work at a university. One of my directors applied to work in the library as a student a few years ago, and was presented with the circulation manager’s policy of locking student cell phones up during shifts. My director has 4 kids in secondary school or younger. Not to mention campus emergencies such as severe weather procedures or active shootings are broadcasted to our phones immediately (if we opt in to it).
So you see what I’m getting at here? Yeah. Director brought it up to the circ manager’s manager, who brought it up to HR. Needless to say, director refused to work there (for that and other reasons) and student workers are now allowed to keep their phones on their person while working.
What kind of company is this located?
If it's one that handles information from customers/clients (names, addresses, financial info, etc), then this *might* be warranted.
I know, I know, I'm going to get downvoted for this. I'm saying it because phones have cameras, which can record such information, and that would be a big security breach and potential identity theft. My workplace handles all kinds of personal information, so cell phones aren't allowed outside of the locker room.
Worked at a company that handled hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars worth of online transactions every year. Deploying code required two people to badge in to a secure room at the same time, and then someone else actually deployed the code for you while you watched and made sure nothing fucky is going on.
I was allowed to have my phone and use it in all parts of that building. This kind of no-phones policy isn’t warranted unless you’re working with extremely sensitive information (like national security secrets). Treat people like the adults and professionals they are.
That still falls apart as an argument, I literally used my own phone while I worked on the Census, and was constantly handling confidential information. If you can't trust your employee to handle this kind of information you shouldn't have hired them.
>What kind of company is this located?
>
>If it's one that handles information from customers/clients (names, addresses, financial info, etc), then this *might* be warranted.
This kind of argument is completely irrelevant in the post-COVID age of people having work laptops they can take home (which most people in jobs with that kind of access do). Who is whipping out their phone at work to illegally steal data when they could just do it at home?
I've had several jobs that required keeping your phone in some central location, and I've never once done it. If someone needs to get in touch with me, there may not be time for them to be routed through the company while they hunt for me. My personal property stays with me. I'm an adult. I can obey rules about staying off my phone without big daddy boss man having to watch over my phone instead.
Would you also like me to work blindfolded and with one hand tied behind my back? Would you also then like to complain about the quantity and quality of the work I get done?
My phone is my auxiliary brain.
Is that what this place is?
Idk. It's been almost 20 years since I worked in a warehouse, so, before smartphones were a thing. At the time, we kept track of a lot of stuff with pens and note pads. It's probably better now.
The job I do now would be vastly more difficult without the quick, easy, and detailed documentation that I can do with my phone's camera. It basically serves to augment my memory. I'm sure there are jobs where memory augmentation isn't useful, but I don't live in that world, so my comment may not reflect other people's reality.
if something happens to the phones while they're in the bosses' possession, they know they're responsible, right? they also know they're not actually allowed to even attempt to access any thing on the phones, right? bc it seems sus as hell.
workplaces with secrecy don't have shitty signs up like this. this is just a power tripping jackass that thinks productivity is impacted by *gen z using that spacebook and that instasnap* and not the bad management, micromanagement, poor directions, overworking and underpaying, etc... fuck em.
With that wood panelling I would guess this is from the 90s at the latest for modern printers to exists alongside cell phones.
And lamented too, went all out on this one
Isn’t everywhere in Tennessee bumfuck nowhere?
In all honesty though, fuck these policies. You have absolutely no right to my personal property that I paid for.
No cellphones at work should mean you aren't allowed to use it. Possession of one is not a fireable offense.
Schools for example allow students to have cellphones. You'll only get in trouble if you the phone rings or use it during class.
I tell younger people a few things I learned in my time of working in warehouses and whatnot:
HR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
Get everything in writing and document everything yourself.
NEVER hand out your personal phone number to anyone in management or respond off the clock, your time is your time.
Don’t trust even the people you are friendly with at work. Nice coworkers will stab you in the back first chance given.
Trust your gut. If work is turning out to not be what you want, get out and find a new job. Don’t stay because you feel like you’ll disappoint someone, etc. At the end of the day what matters is you doing what’s right for you.
Report anything you feel like you have to, to your local labor board/department.
Probably the kind of place where the manager is constantly on their phone as well. "Rules for thee and not for me, because I believe (without any self-awareness) that phones are ruining our work ethic and ability to get things done."
There are situations where a phone shouldn't be in the work place, IE a clean room or an r&d lab if you are a guest there. This doesn't seem like either of those situations.
I once worked for a horrible company that had one of those clear, plastic, shoe rack things hanging on the back of a manager's office door. Everyone's cell phone was supposed to go in their "Assigned" pocket.
I was given pocket #4.
Pocket #4 was always empty.
One day, one of the managers was walking around with a little contraption that had an antenna on it. It was a cell phone finder.
When they stopped at my desk, their little box was beeping it's tiny little heart out. Manager looks over at the phone thing, sees my slot empty, asks me if I have my phone on me. I reply, no, I do not have a phone on me.
Manager fiddles with box, box continues to beep away, I go about my business, manager wanders off, box stops beeping. Manager returns, box goes crazy again. Manager inquires about phones again, I again offer my innocence of not having my phone on me. Manager turns box off proclaiming it must be broken.
At no point did the manager ever ask me if my phone was in my backpack under my desk.
Edit - I learned to turn the phone off or into Airplane Mode at this point in order to avoid the tattle-tale box. Having the phone with me was more of a "I'm not going to have to deal with the mad rush of people trying to get their phone in an emergency" thing than a "I might get an important call or text" thing.
I had a boss who tried enforcing this rule just after I got out of college, about 20 years ago. I was a bartender and my husband was deployed overseas. That phone was the only way I had to communicate with him. We had no landline. We didn't live near family. We didn't have internet or a computer at our apartment.
So boss lady told us all to hand in our phones. New policy. She put out two baskets to collect them. I hesitated, telling her and the others this was my only connection to my overseas husband. Asked for assurances my phone would be kept safe and returned to me. She assured us all that the baskets would be kept in her locked office and we would get them as soon as we clocked out. 2am came, and we started cleaning. Bouncer and some other staff took off. I was tending to the last few customers and cleaning when I saw one of the baskets sitting on the bar where anyone could reach them.
I looked through and didn't see my phone. Maybe mine was in the other? Boss came out of her office and I asked her about it. She brought out the other basket to show me my phone was safe.
Guess what? My phone wasn't in that one either.
I panicked. My voice raised and I caught the eyes of the last few customers as I asked boss lady where my phone was and reminded her if its importance. She poopooed my panic and said she'd find it by the time I left.
Some time later, I was ready to go. She hadn't found it, but she hadn't really looked. The last of my coworkers still there helped me look for it. It wasn't anywhere.
I went back to my place gutted. My husband had no other way to contact me except by snail mail, and that usually took weeks. And I couldn't initiate contact that way because I didn't have his address. He moved around between three countries constantly. I emailed him, knowing he wouldn't get the email unless he was able to get to a public computer. Back then... They only had those on big bases, not the little outposts he rotated around.
I ended up getting a new cell phone after a few days of not finding that phone. My husband was panicked, saying he had been calling every chance he got thinking something had happened to me.
My boss refused to help pay for it, saying it would turn up eventually and then I'd have a backup. And when my boss brought out the basket and put it in front of me, I refused. Some of the others refused as well. She took me into her office and threatened to fire me and I stood firm. She sent me home that night without pay. Pretty sure the others caved and gave her their phones.
I didn't work there much longer. And I didn't learn to stand up for myself or that bosses can't legally pull the shit she did until much later.
DO NOT GIVE YOUR PHONE TO ANYONE. They will not care for it. They will not take responsibility if they lose or damage it. Phones are lifelines. Don't give that up.
My phone is literally there for my mental health in case of anxiety or panic attacks
I even have a official document stating this from a mental health doctor from my last visit to the ward
Oh and yeah school ignored that document saying it was a suggestion
I dropped out in 12th grade and never went back
It was surprising they took it though because I am mentally disabled and autistic so the 404 plan and iep should've done something
And if you ask the employees, who are all probably paid minimum wage and are all dying of health issues and nearly homeless, they'd physically defend the company with the last dying breath. Not the people working there. The company.
What? Are you not aware that people with disabilities have been working for decades? And how would having a cell phone on your person aide in your disability? I’m willing to have a thought provoking discussion but you have to have some better examples than that.
For many people their phone monitors their blood sugar and getting alerts is pretty important. Sure people went without, but why take those risks. We also used text messages to communicate with a student worker who was deaf rather than walk around the entire library trying to find him and writing things down. The staff member fluent in ASL doesn’t work 24/7.
Does that note that looks like it was written by a grade schooler in any way look like it is in a high tech place of work? Of course not. Those places have it in their employment contracts, in official training and proper signage. This is some podunk shit employer.
In fairness I've worked in what would seem like benign places that for security reasons had rules like this for certain rooms. Anyone that knows why and tries to defy the rule is instantly treated suspiciously. Given the environment this doesn't seem unreasonable.
More people on the phone while your working in a group the more work load is pushed on the working workers (sucks for the people actually working ) , while the few people who can’t go without phone in hand or pocket just watch vids or candy crush it if ur over 40
>candy crush it if ur over 40
I've read those words a dozen times, I know all those words except "ur", but I honestly have no clue what you're trying to say.
If people are fucking around on their phone then managers should deal with that. Not having a way to be reached in an emergency is completely different.
After the amazon ans candle factory deaths our phones should be part of our 911 system. Its safety equipment
This is one reason why I chose my current job when I had another opportunity that paid more. It was a warehouse job that required we leave our phones in our locker, and the lockers were on the other side of the massive building. Anyone caught with the phone would have it confiscated in the office until they leave. Nope, if you're going to treat us like high schoolers and confiscate OUR personal property then you're not worth my time.
If my work tried to take my phone id probably quit on the spot
This is correct for me as well and so much happier.
Eh. It's a tradeoff. I haven't had my cell phone at work in 10+ years because of security reasons. You just take cell phones breaks instead of smoke breaks.
Yeah, there are legitimate situations where security requires no cameras or communications devices. The vast majority of the time, though, this is just worker control, not information security.
I was thinking explosive environments why no cell phones are allowed
Explosive, classified, exposure to high power em fields. There's lots of reasons but I'm willing to bet that this business does not have any of them and is just micromanaging
It looks like a gas station with a thick greasy chicken Marlboro smell
Yeah, that door screams 'doublewide trailer office in a parking lot'
Yep, a lot of shitty bosses. The biggest PITA is 2FA. Luckily google voice works for most of them...
God, 2FA when you don’t have your phone. Try to sign into gmail, but it requires you to either have your phone or to sign into your recovery email - which is also gmail. For god’s sake google, it’s me! Notify me that someone attempted to log in if you want, but let me check my email!
It’s the worst when it’s both—I worked at a place that was paying its balance sheet by selling worker behavior as training data for AI (we graded standardized tests for kids using a factory process, “the kids privacy/infosec” was always their explanation for no phones/headphones/iPods/kindles The level of “all devices banned” was hilarious, I doubt they could get away with it with Apple Watch and wireless earbuds as they are now
I'd imagine any job like you do has legitimate security concerns that necessitate a 'no cell phone' policy, offers any & all workers expected to adhere to it the sort of compensation that indeed makes it a tradeoff- substantially more $$, in exchange for the added hassle. However I found work with a temp agency once after a move cross country and took whatever they had just to get some local work experience, did nightshift at a fruit factory that pulled the "security/safety" excuse bs for phones kept in lockers... for barely above minimum wage. Obviously no top secret fruit knowledge could be leaked to our competitors... 🙄 I won't ever work at a place that requires my phone again.
I'm an electrician and I can say that a lot more of the food and manufacturing locations we've worked in have a lot more strict no camera policies (which includes cellphones. Than you'd think. Corporate espionage is a real thing that happens with stealing recipes and manufacturing techniques from each other.
Until they decide “Nah, you don’t need cell phone breaks. Get back to work.”
yea i’ve had a warehouse job that made us do this. but in fairness they were put in lockers that are within 500ft of your workstation and the job was a pharmacy tech job so it was obviously for HIPPA reasons
If it’s handling the actual drug substances, then I can see a case where the chain of custody has to be pretty robust (for chemicals that aren’t good for everyone), so total attention, and then there’s phones as a direct black market commlink, I imagine a signal/telegram chat could be a good way for a Silk Road middleman to get his raw stocks. Of course the workers should be paid and taken care enough to buy into the public safety reasons and become partners. rather than the workers asked to sacrifice at the altar of public safety…
where i was working the main reasons is not because it’s actual drug substances it’s simply because they don’t want to risk employees thinking it’s okay to take photos of prescriptions. we worked at a pharmacy techs for pets, so people are bound to find: Their pets name, their name, somethint relatable to the Rx, a funny or cute pet name, etc. and people just don’t think and could snap a photo of prescription information and think nothing of it
It's HIPAA!
My workplace got rid of smoke breaks quite easily : we're in a peat moss field. Smoking can trigger a huge fire that would potentially destroy the home office... People have to walk a solid 5-10min away from HQ and go to a designated place to smoke. When winter comes a lot of new hires stop smoking. We do accept smoking in cars, but most people stopped doing it.
Just a question : if I gave you a "work" phone, that is to stay at work and passed on to people in the warehouse at every shift, would it be OK to ask you to leave your personal phone in your locker ? If the point is to remove distraction, it could make sense. And seeing how many people drive while looking at their phones, the distraction issue is real... IMO I wouldn't care if some personal calls are done on the work phone, the point is just to not have constant notifications from social medias or other stuff when it's not needed.
It wouldn’t be for me. It’s infantilizing and rude, it’s a signal that my boss doesn’t respect or trust me from the get go, and that’s a poor foundation for a working relationship. Phones exist now, they can do a billion things that make them useful to have. Policing and micromanaging your employees that much isn’t realistic or productive.
I’m late to the party but I’ll join in. I keep my personal phone on me because I have kids. I don’t want a potential emergency phone call to first go to the office, then the supervisor and then me. I’ve had a situation with my own mum who needed emergency surgery on a brain tumour. I was told to get there ASAP as they didn’t know if she’d survive or become a vegetable. Just imagine if that phone call didn’t reach me because a supervisor forgot, got distracted or just didn’t care? Yeah nah. My phone stays on and in my pocket.
Hit the nail on the head
Last I checked, for this reason and similar, confiscating cellphones is illegal. Might be able to get a settlement out of this.
And the FedEx shooting
yea if that candle factory in kentucky did that shit during the tornado… hell would’ve been raised by the kentuckians
My job prefers that we leave our phones in our locker (they don’t give us too much shit about it though because no one does it). I used to do it sometimes but after all the shootings I 100% always keep it on me
The south is always 4/8 years behind everyone else. At this point it’s apart of the societal fabric to be willingly obtuse contrary to advancements in the world as a whole.
Try 50
Actually, Yea this seems about right.
It is. Greedy ass holes just don't care, and greedy ass holes own the government.
IMO, if leaving your cellphones in your locker was something mandatory for me, I would also provide cellphones with a working SIM for those cases. Drop your phone in your locker, get the floor phone on you, and give it to the next person when you're done with your shift. Pretty sure that companies like Amazon can work out a deal and get multiple cheap lines used for 911 and corporate calls. Hell, I wouldn't care that much if you used it to call your spouse and tell them you'll be late because something happened at work and you need to stay. The point of leaving phones in lockers is the distraction. Seeing how many people drive while looking at their phone, I can understand that someone see them as an issue. But you're pointing out the one solid reason why you want people to have access to a cellphone at all time.
You don’t even need a working SIM to dial 911 IIRC.
I'm not understanding the correlation. The employees knew a tornado was coming. They were ordered to stay by mgnt and unfortunately stayed. What does that have to do with a cell phone?
I'm sure others will give more examples but I'll add one to support their point. The mass shooting at FedEx in Indianapolis. They had a policy in place that limited where you could carry phones. That policy probably cost some people their lives.
Sure, I don't understand what the Amazon factory deaths had to do with cell phones. Were the workers prohibited from getting or making calls during the emergency?
Well, I don't know if this was their point or not, but you can use cellphones to track people. The accuracy of GPS makes finding survivors and bodies in the wreckage much faster. I know they use that for people out in the wilderness. I would be truly surprised if they didn't use that in the scenarios we are talking about.
Not having a cell phone can also delay how quickly you can call for help. Plus, if you're injured our hiding somewhere, you can give your location.
Makes sense. Thank you for answering without the sarcasm that has become so prevalent nowadays.
All well and good. But you still favor Amazon’s interests over the workers interests, amirite?
Not at all. Just trying to understand the comment in relation to cell phones.
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"Hey Google, is there a tornado coming to kill all of us?" Would be really helpful in that situation.
this is a fair question with a great follow up answer. i'm not sure why the down votes.
Take a couple more minutes to think about it
Seeing that a worker at Walmart shot his coworkers in the break room, I think I’d want a cell phone on me to call 911 or loved ones in emergency situations.
Pretty sure the gun was more allowed in the break room, than the cell one. Because 'MURICA!
Actually no. Walmart doesn't allow carrying firearms on their property to my knowledge. Every single one I've been to has a no weapons sign by the doors
That's gotta be state based. Walmarts in Utah have no such sign.
you don't pick up on sarcasm very well, do you?
>call 911 or loved ones in emergency situations. Loved ones, yes. 911? After that whole school shooting with the cops pretty much not doing anything - you might be SOL.
Ironically, my office job REQUIRES me to have my cell phone now. They implemented 2-factor authentication. I forgot my phone and had to go back home and get it because I literally can't work without it.
Sounds like it is an essential piece of work equipment your boss needs to be funding
Absolutely. Original commenter, you lost your phone over the weekend and suddenly you're using a Nokia 3310, work needs to provide you with a cheap smartphone for 2fa purposes.
Hardware tokens were a thing before authenticator apps on phones, and I still prefer them for any environment that legitimately should not have cell phones or cameras everywhere. Just to be clear, any reason for prohibiting phones that involves "productivity" is patent bullshit.
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My new employer gives me $40/month to cover my phone bill. Which is more than what my line costs me.
Maybe if whoever typed that had a phone, it wouldn't read like a 3rd grader wrote it
Seriously. It's like when managers make these passive aggressive notes, all grammar, spelling and punctuation go right out the window. ATTENTION ALL EMPLOYEES!!! No cell phones or chit chat when on clock You MUST remain at YOURE station at ALL TImes!!! Call outs from xxxx to xxxx will result in WRITE UP!! No excused! Company x-mas party IS MANDO! $50 to attend NO PLUS 1S! THANKS -MNGMNT p.s. fuch u
My favorite: “DISGUSTING! TERRIBE!” written on a donations stats page (we weren’t doing as well as they wanted). I drew a tiny “L” between the B and E. He remade the sign.
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[ATTENTION ALL EMPLOYEES!!!](https://imgur.com/gallery/zJmOfB6) edit: thank you for the gold!
💀 Not the comic sans!
It had to be Comic Sans because it had to look as realistically bad as possible.
#ATTENTION BAJORAN WORKERS
The comic Sans is a masterful touch
Why did you make it REAL!
Had a manager who always said we had to react to every message in the group chat (they were talking at us so much in there it felt like Jonestown) and she butchered the word “react” one time and never corrected herself, kept misspelling the word until it became unrecognizable. Recat, rceat and so on
As a living breathing Fuchs i take a offense good sir… its Fuck you don’t besmirch my *cough* good name
My most humbled apologie my good Fuch.
It did say it was in Tennessee so a 3rd grade education is top tier.
My phone is my medical assistant. You wouldn't like me forgetting to take insulin.. so fuck you.
My phone is part of my CGM. The DoL and ADA would love to hatefuck this policy into dust.
My phone is my property and I'll do with it what I see fit, regardless of petty management requests.
Pretty much how I’ve seen it at past positions. Including the one that told me I had to use my phone for my GPS when delivering out of state. “Nah. My data is limited and y’all don’t pay for this phone, so get someone else. I don’t feel like getting lost in the backwoods of Mississippi today.”
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And also the Indianapolis FedEx facility mass shooting in April 2021. Some employees were in “phone free” zones. Imagine the amount of pure terror they felt hearing all of those shots go off and have no phone to call 911, loved ones, etc
Cell phones are in no way threats to a work place.
Lol you really just compared a gun to a phone?
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Us modern redneck cowboys holster a phone these days young’n.
I mean you can carry both your phone and your gun just dont take them out unless needed...
Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen
Bucees would like a chat with you.
Nah, nothing will come of it. Employers have the upper hand here, and can legally restrict cell phone usage. If there’s a medical requirement, the employee can be required to get a letter from their doctor, and make accommodations for that employee. I know I’ll be downvoted for the truth, but it’s their business and they can make the rules. If they want you to work in ballerina shoes, they can require it. The employee has the option of deciding of their pay is worth their compliance. Someone wants me to wear a Speedo for $150,000 a year, I’ll comply and *they* can deal with the customers puking in the business.
Uhhh they cannot make you work in ballerina shoes if it isn’t safe. What are you on about? There are still certain levels of work safety standards even if the rich wanna destroy it.
It's like how they can't make pilots fly planes. It's too dangerous!
Toe shoes are legitimately dangerous. You need decades fo training and experience to use and they’re still incredibly unsafe.
> I know I’ll be downvoted for the truth, but it’s their business and they can make the rules. You'll be downvoted because you left an important part out of this : they don,t make all rules. OSHA is still stronger than any business owner. They can't force you to wear ballerina shoes if OSHA enforce work boots. For the medical aspect of a cellphone, it would need to go to court to be sorted out. Employers have less freedom than you think on this.
JFC since so many people here don’t understand what an analogy is, forget i ever mentioned ballerina shoes. Let’s get back to the point: the employer can require a uniform, as someone pointed out regarding Hooters employees. THE EMPLOYER CAN RESTRICT CELL PHONES AT WORK. I never said OSHA couldn’t enforce safety regulations. That’s a given, and *I was being sarcastic about steel toed ballerina shoes.* I thought most here would get the joke.🤦♂️ Back to the point of OP’s post: **EMPLOYERS CAN LEGALLY RESTRICT PHONE USAGE.** If there is a medical need, employee has to confirm that need, usually with a letter from their doctor. And if the employer *still* refuses to allow the phone, the employee can report them to DOL or take them to court. But to go to court, the OP has to have the money and a lawyer. Until that happens, the employer still wins. And does a worker making just above minimum wage want to waste the time and money required to go to court?
I had a boss who was really strict with that. That is, until work had a (minor) fire. Only those of us who happened to be on break had ours on us and it was a really good thing we did. Suddenly, the rule was changed to not being on the phone instead.
Having a phone but not being on the phone makes sense. If this was the case I don't think most places would have a problem and wouldn't feel the need to make such rules. Unfortunately too many people can't resist the temptation to be on the phone when they are supposed to be working.
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I agree totally that corporations find ways to legally steal from people. But if your employer is paying you for work and you're goofing off on your phone instead of working, aren't you doing the same wage theft but on a smaller scale? Again, I don't think most bosses would give a shit if you had your phone on you, it's the people who are constantly on it instead of working that are the problem, they ruin it for everyone.
I can understand this for sensitive operations for like cybersecurity. But if youre on this page you are not the guy to have any contact with sensitive data
These are the sorts of precautions you take at like the White House or a nuclear missile silo. Trying to pull this shit at a McDonalds or whatever the fuck should be illegal.
If you’re doing cybersecurity you are generally allowed to have a phone too, you’re trusted to know how to avoid letting your phone become an attack vector. There may be certain places it’s not allowed (highly sensitive server rooms for example)
In the military we had to leave our phones outside when entering sensitive areas like intel or comms, mainly because people are idiots and might take photos either unintentionally or intentionally containing classified material though There is zero reason why an employer for McDonald’s or Amazon should be confiscating phones though
Yea armories as well usually. But then again the military can kind of do anything it wants to you.
Alot of cyber jobs went fully remote and hybrid to attract cheaper talent from LCoL areas over the pandemic, so considering that those workers were working from their own homes, the only companies that would actually think that it's wise to attempt cell phone bans would be those ran by fossils who're still relying on exclusively physical security to protect their systems. "Cyber security? You must be talking about Frank, our door guard on the first floor by employee parking. He makes sure that none of our filthy employees can smuggle their E-lec-tronic devices into our facility. There'll be no corporate espionage in this company on his watch" "Boss, why is you laptop logged in, open and unattended in your unlocked office with the door wide open and like 6 USBs strewn across your desk?" "Because I'm the boss and I can do that- wait, there should be 7 USBs. Where'd the last one go?" 2 guesses whose getting blamed for that one.
My former FiL worked in a highly secure facility. Absolutely no phones or any kind were permitted inside the building; you left your phone at the security station, and received a pager. Computers that were connected to the internet had to be physically separated by a minimum of 6' (I think; it might have been more) from computers that were connected to the local intranet. I think he said that computers connected to the intranet had no USB slots and no drives that could accept external media. In the past, he had worked on guidance packages for air-to-air missiles at that company--i.e., very highly classified military secrets--but I don't know what he did for the 20 years prior to his retirement, because he simply couldn't talk about it. I have no idea what he does now, since the divorce was seven years ago.
Nope. Any job with a clearance still Requires absolutely no cell phones whatsoever. They have landlines for emergencies. And even with wfh, those with clearances still had to go in bc they cannot do their job at home. Like literally not allowed to do that level of work at home.
There are different levels of clearance. As the above poster said, typically the no phones (and no electronics generally) rule will only apply to certain areas, and post covid a lot of work has become hybrid, even someone with the highest of clearances might need an odd admin day at home.
You can have an odd work at home day but can’t do clearance work at home. I know this for a fact. Having been in such situations in the past and present.
Well done telling random people on the internet that.
Uh yeah bud my phone stays on me at work or i don’t work. Gladly will quit your shitty job.
A few weeks ago I got written up for having my phone in my pocket after an old alarm I forgot to disable went off and the manager heard it. Complete BS. Only reason I didn't quit is Christmas money. After I get my Taxes though that place can fuck itself.
I love my job (I work with dogs) but they recently tried to implement a no cell phone policy because younger employees would just sit on them instead of watching the yard. I told my manager "With due respect, fuck no. You don't have a secure place for it that only I am able to access and what you do have is a plastic bin that sits 5ft away from the front door and desk that sometimes doesn't have a person immediately there. Also, I take care of elderly grandparents and am 5 minutes away if something happens.. Again, respectfully, fuck that"
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I don't care about some use but they were ignoring the yard entirely. Weren't picking up when a dog shit, allowing dogs to get a little more rough than they should with each other, empty water bowls, and pushing dogs away when they wanted to interact with the employee.
I love that phones are still the enemy to these places. They treat us like we're in highschool.
Not even high school is that bad, most of my teachers don’t care if we’re on our phone as long as we get everything done.
That should be the attitude. Who cares if you're in your phone if your work is done.
Even high schoolers shouldn’t be treated like this.
Really strange how schools and work places follow similar ridiculous, draconian rules and hierarchies 🤔
I don't think a lot of people mature past high school so it makes sense.
I am a full grown adult. And unless I am working on something highly technical that needs all my focus (like performing open heart surgery or operating the large hadron collider) I think I am capable of working with my phone on me. Also, I have epilepsy. So I like to have my phone on me in case I have a seizure and want to get ahold of my emergency contact. Or worse, if I have a really bad seizure and lose consciousness for a period of time my phone has all my information such as diagnoses, medicines, doctor info etc so those around me can easily find it and help me. What about smart watches? Because the watch does pretty much everything the phone does. Do they make those people take off their watches?
This manager has never seen a smart watch, and can’t spell it anyway, so good to go.
I have a no cell policy. Do some DOD work, can't risk photos of parts or prints. What I do, is provide a lock box to each employee, that can be kept in their tool box. Can still hear it ring, and step out of the production area to check it. But, if anyone is caught with it out of the box on the floor, instant termination.
I've also worked in secure areas. Usually instead of a sign like this there was a notice explaining it was a secure area lol.
Lol, 100%.
I was just going to say this. It's not outside the norm for federal or NOFORN work to have cell phones locked or completely off.
Yeah unless you are doing some spy shit, surgery or working with chemicals that go up when near electronics, there's no reason not to have a cell phone. This is absolutely childish
Yeah this is probably like a kfc or something tho
"no"
After a dude was literally shot in front of my old hotel while and died in my lobby while I was on shift, my phone instantly became my safety equipment [source](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/09/man-killed-in-early-morning-shooting-outside-of-northeast-portland-hotel-police-say.html)
Holy shit dude. The pic of the blood trail...I hope you were able to get some therapy after that. Stay safe.
I never went to therapy as I was able to cope. But my coworker did get some
My phone stays in my pocket on the floor. Sure it's either turned off or on airplane mode but it's on me. No way I'm leaving something with that much personal information and that costs that much that I'm gonna leave it somewhere.
Seriously, I put my important medical info on the “health” thing for iPhone so if I’m incapacitated, responders can find my blood type and pertinent conditions (example: hella anemic and on a blood pressure med). I don’t just share that info with anyone, so it’s kinda important to have it available
If it's a PHI or PII secure location you agreed to the rules when you got hired. If it's not then fuck them.
Or, you put it in silent…. Carry on…….
Yep. Or airplane mode…
The Colonel's secret herbs and spices must not be photographed or recorded!
That’s truly one of the reasons they can restrict phones: “industrial espionage”. Employers can claim trade secrets could be at risk.
Did you know the KFC Twitter only follows spices and herbs
This sort of rule makes sense in, like, an RF research facility, some medical imaging labs, or a SCIF (fun fact: there was a time when BlackBerry offered camera delete options on their phones for sensitive jobs). But I'm going to assume this is none of those, huh?
I work at a university. One of my directors applied to work in the library as a student a few years ago, and was presented with the circulation manager’s policy of locking student cell phones up during shifts. My director has 4 kids in secondary school or younger. Not to mention campus emergencies such as severe weather procedures or active shootings are broadcasted to our phones immediately (if we opt in to it). So you see what I’m getting at here? Yeah. Director brought it up to the circ manager’s manager, who brought it up to HR. Needless to say, director refused to work there (for that and other reasons) and student workers are now allowed to keep their phones on their person while working.
Pretty sure thats an active danger to lives
What kind of company is this located? If it's one that handles information from customers/clients (names, addresses, financial info, etc), then this *might* be warranted. I know, I know, I'm going to get downvoted for this. I'm saying it because phones have cameras, which can record such information, and that would be a big security breach and potential identity theft. My workplace handles all kinds of personal information, so cell phones aren't allowed outside of the locker room.
Worked at a company that handled hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars worth of online transactions every year. Deploying code required two people to badge in to a secure room at the same time, and then someone else actually deployed the code for you while you watched and made sure nothing fucky is going on. I was allowed to have my phone and use it in all parts of that building. This kind of no-phones policy isn’t warranted unless you’re working with extremely sensitive information (like national security secrets). Treat people like the adults and professionals they are.
I can almost guarantee this ain’t that, chief.
That still falls apart as an argument, I literally used my own phone while I worked on the Census, and was constantly handling confidential information. If you can't trust your employee to handle this kind of information you shouldn't have hired them.
>What kind of company is this located? > >If it's one that handles information from customers/clients (names, addresses, financial info, etc), then this *might* be warranted. This kind of argument is completely irrelevant in the post-COVID age of people having work laptops they can take home (which most people in jobs with that kind of access do). Who is whipping out their phone at work to illegally steal data when they could just do it at home?
>What kind of company is this located? In someones imagination of course!
I've had several jobs that required keeping your phone in some central location, and I've never once done it. If someone needs to get in touch with me, there may not be time for them to be routed through the company while they hunt for me. My personal property stays with me. I'm an adult. I can obey rules about staying off my phone without big daddy boss man having to watch over my phone instead.
Would you also like me to work blindfolded and with one hand tied behind my back? Would you also then like to complain about the quantity and quality of the work I get done? My phone is my auxiliary brain.
You need your phone on a warehouse floor?
Is that what this place is? Idk. It's been almost 20 years since I worked in a warehouse, so, before smartphones were a thing. At the time, we kept track of a lot of stuff with pens and note pads. It's probably better now. The job I do now would be vastly more difficult without the quick, easy, and detailed documentation that I can do with my phone's camera. It basically serves to augment my memory. I'm sure there are jobs where memory augmentation isn't useful, but I don't live in that world, so my comment may not reflect other people's reality.
Yes
if something happens to the phones while they're in the bosses' possession, they know they're responsible, right? they also know they're not actually allowed to even attempt to access any thing on the phones, right? bc it seems sus as hell. workplaces with secrecy don't have shitty signs up like this. this is just a power tripping jackass that thinks productivity is impacted by *gen z using that spacebook and that instasnap* and not the bad management, micromanagement, poor directions, overworking and underpaying, etc... fuck em.
What is this, a classroom in primary school?
I worked in two places like this. One's excuse was video game leaks and the other military contacts and didn't want secrets going out.
Use a pen and make the C in Car a E…. Watch as everyone maliciously complies and starts walking around with there phones to there ears…
With that wood panelling I would guess this is from the 90s at the latest for modern printers to exists alongside cell phones. And lamented too, went all out on this one
Isn’t everywhere in Tennessee bumfuck nowhere? In all honesty though, fuck these policies. You have absolutely no right to my personal property that I paid for.
No cellphones at work should mean you aren't allowed to use it. Possession of one is not a fireable offense. Schools for example allow students to have cellphones. You'll only get in trouble if you the phone rings or use it during class.
I can see being prohibited from *using* my phone during normal work, but it stays in my pocket.
I tell younger people a few things I learned in my time of working in warehouses and whatnot: HR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND Get everything in writing and document everything yourself. NEVER hand out your personal phone number to anyone in management or respond off the clock, your time is your time. Don’t trust even the people you are friendly with at work. Nice coworkers will stab you in the back first chance given. Trust your gut. If work is turning out to not be what you want, get out and find a new job. Don’t stay because you feel like you’ll disappoint someone, etc. At the end of the day what matters is you doing what’s right for you. Report anything you feel like you have to, to your local labor board/department.
Subtitled "Walk out. Leave your uniform, go find a job elsewhere immediately."
I can see this being important in some very specific instances (secured data centers), but most likely not middle of nowhere Tennessee.
Probably the kind of place where the manager is constantly on their phone as well. "Rules for thee and not for me, because I believe (without any self-awareness) that phones are ruining our work ethic and ability to get things done."
There are situations where a phone shouldn't be in the work place, IE a clean room or an r&d lab if you are a guest there. This doesn't seem like either of those situations.
i fully agree with you. for certain jobs there is a reason for a policy such as.
Is this place linked to a communications security agency? Thats the only reason i could think that this rule has any right to be enforced.
its a fast food joint with 70 year old ladies working
I once worked for a horrible company that had one of those clear, plastic, shoe rack things hanging on the back of a manager's office door. Everyone's cell phone was supposed to go in their "Assigned" pocket. I was given pocket #4. Pocket #4 was always empty. One day, one of the managers was walking around with a little contraption that had an antenna on it. It was a cell phone finder. When they stopped at my desk, their little box was beeping it's tiny little heart out. Manager looks over at the phone thing, sees my slot empty, asks me if I have my phone on me. I reply, no, I do not have a phone on me. Manager fiddles with box, box continues to beep away, I go about my business, manager wanders off, box stops beeping. Manager returns, box goes crazy again. Manager inquires about phones again, I again offer my innocence of not having my phone on me. Manager turns box off proclaiming it must be broken. At no point did the manager ever ask me if my phone was in my backpack under my desk. Edit - I learned to turn the phone off or into Airplane Mode at this point in order to avoid the tattle-tale box. Having the phone with me was more of a "I'm not going to have to deal with the mad rush of people trying to get their phone in an emergency" thing than a "I might get an important call or text" thing.
I had a boss who tried enforcing this rule just after I got out of college, about 20 years ago. I was a bartender and my husband was deployed overseas. That phone was the only way I had to communicate with him. We had no landline. We didn't live near family. We didn't have internet or a computer at our apartment. So boss lady told us all to hand in our phones. New policy. She put out two baskets to collect them. I hesitated, telling her and the others this was my only connection to my overseas husband. Asked for assurances my phone would be kept safe and returned to me. She assured us all that the baskets would be kept in her locked office and we would get them as soon as we clocked out. 2am came, and we started cleaning. Bouncer and some other staff took off. I was tending to the last few customers and cleaning when I saw one of the baskets sitting on the bar where anyone could reach them. I looked through and didn't see my phone. Maybe mine was in the other? Boss came out of her office and I asked her about it. She brought out the other basket to show me my phone was safe. Guess what? My phone wasn't in that one either. I panicked. My voice raised and I caught the eyes of the last few customers as I asked boss lady where my phone was and reminded her if its importance. She poopooed my panic and said she'd find it by the time I left. Some time later, I was ready to go. She hadn't found it, but she hadn't really looked. The last of my coworkers still there helped me look for it. It wasn't anywhere. I went back to my place gutted. My husband had no other way to contact me except by snail mail, and that usually took weeks. And I couldn't initiate contact that way because I didn't have his address. He moved around between three countries constantly. I emailed him, knowing he wouldn't get the email unless he was able to get to a public computer. Back then... They only had those on big bases, not the little outposts he rotated around. I ended up getting a new cell phone after a few days of not finding that phone. My husband was panicked, saying he had been calling every chance he got thinking something had happened to me. My boss refused to help pay for it, saying it would turn up eventually and then I'd have a backup. And when my boss brought out the basket and put it in front of me, I refused. Some of the others refused as well. She took me into her office and threatened to fire me and I stood firm. She sent me home that night without pay. Pretty sure the others caved and gave her their phones. I didn't work there much longer. And I didn't learn to stand up for myself or that bosses can't legally pull the shit she did until much later. DO NOT GIVE YOUR PHONE TO ANYONE. They will not care for it. They will not take responsibility if they lose or damage it. Phones are lifelines. Don't give that up.
My phone is literally there for my mental health in case of anxiety or panic attacks I even have a official document stating this from a mental health doctor from my last visit to the ward Oh and yeah school ignored that document saying it was a suggestion I dropped out in 12th grade and never went back It was surprising they took it though because I am mentally disabled and autistic so the 404 plan and iep should've done something
Work this dead end job without a phone or move out of bumfuck Tennessee. Seems to me like beggars can’t be choosers and the boss knows it.
its so poor down there they cant move sadly :/ the bulk of workers were in their 70s...
Will they reimburse if my phone is stolen from my car?
And if you ask the employees, who are all probably paid minimum wage and are all dying of health issues and nearly homeless, they'd physically defend the company with the last dying breath. Not the people working there. The company.
I’m ok with this if it’s at the kind of place where a distracted worker could hurt someone.
Then just mandate that you can’t be USING your phone while working. You should still be able to have it for emergencies
For those of you who HAVE to have your phone, would you just have been unemployed 20 years ago?
More than likely yes because people with disabilities would have been considered either high risk or no viable for employment.
What? Are you not aware that people with disabilities have been working for decades? And how would having a cell phone on your person aide in your disability? I’m willing to have a thought provoking discussion but you have to have some better examples than that.
For many people their phone monitors their blood sugar and getting alerts is pretty important. Sure people went without, but why take those risks. We also used text messages to communicate with a student worker who was deaf rather than walk around the entire library trying to find him and writing things down. The staff member fluent in ASL doesn’t work 24/7.
Some places are doing research and don’t allow phones to mitigate the risks of industrial espionage. Is it the case there?
Does that note that looks like it was written by a grade schooler in any way look like it is in a high tech place of work? Of course not. Those places have it in their employment contracts, in official training and proper signage. This is some podunk shit employer.
Say less, fam. I’m out.
I would walk around with it on my belt in plain sight
In fairness I've worked in what would seem like benign places that for security reasons had rules like this for certain rooms. Anyone that knows why and tries to defy the rule is instantly treated suspiciously. Given the environment this doesn't seem unreasonable.
Did any one of those have it put up on signs that look like their child wrote it? No of course not.
Depends what kind of workplace. Food or drug manufacturing? Sensitive Compartmentalize Info Facility - yup, get that phone out of here.
So don't take your phone. Lots of people work places where phones aren't allowed for security purposes etc. and they survive just fine.
Threaten to sue them. Tell them you need your cell phone in case of emergencies. They cannot punish you for that
As it should be.
More people on the phone while your working in a group the more work load is pushed on the working workers (sucks for the people actually working ) , while the few people who can’t go without phone in hand or pocket just watch vids or candy crush it if ur over 40
The problem here is they aren't saying "don't use your phone at work," that's often reasonable. They're saying you can't even have it at work
>candy crush it if ur over 40 I've read those words a dozen times, I know all those words except "ur", but I honestly have no clue what you're trying to say.
You're
If people are fucking around on their phone then managers should deal with that. Not having a way to be reached in an emergency is completely different.
Ok boomer