Originally Posted by
tjspiel
The big thing that kept me from getting a cell phone until recently was being required to carry a pager in job I had 20 years ago. I worked in the part of the telephone company that supported 911 call centers. I understood that while not likely, there was a remote chance that not returning a page could cost someone their life. Getting calls at any time of day or night was extremely intrusive into my personal life however. It was the nature of my job so I dealt with it, but I've resisted making myself THAT available in any job I've taken since. I don't care if the technology is paid for by the company, it's still MY time.
I'm in management. I know there are people in our company who will call an employee at home or wherever expecting them to drop whatever it is they're doing to address the caller's wishes. I also know that often times it could wait or could have been avoided with better planning. I do think that is one downside to our people being so "connected". The line between work and personal life gets way too blurred in some cases and it affects peoples relationships and messes up their priorities. I doubt that many people on their deathbeds will regret not having spent more time working.
A cell phone is extremely tricky to deal when it comes to work. I will not take a work supplied phone. They will not pay for personal calls and I don't want my personal contacts and whatnot on a company phone anyway. I especially don't want to have to carry two phones. But how does a company deal with securing personal phones? It's a dicey issue.
I'd encourage anybody to spend a week now and them with a few other folks in a remote cabin, camping, or retreat where there is no cell reception and no Internet access. It can be very... refreshing.
Ohhh I know what you are talking about. I refuse to take my company blackberry home. I am on vacation and it is locked in my metal overhead on the metal shelf right up against my bosses cube where every time it rings it will rattle like all hell in that metal box. LOL
My company for the longest time wouldn't supply me with a company phone despite the fact I do travel at least one day a week but they did supply me with a balckberry no voice. They would write off any overage on my personal phone and that was adding up to a good bit. They wouldn't pay for Mobile to Mobile (this was a while ago and on my employee rat plan they gave me a 500 and 1000 minute rate plan) that at $10 a month M2M eliminate $50 a month worth of overages monthly. LOL
So they finally got voice on the blackberry after somebody started paying attention to the overages they were paying and the Online class that clearly stated "Employee rate plan is perk for personal use not business use". Then this happened:
http://www.ajc.com/business/ats-over...ly-280124.html (I am a first line manager and hourly) and part of that suit was about employess answering e-mails on the blackberry that were not on reciving "on call" pay. I feel I can safely say that this is probably part of what caused it.
Boss: you are provided a company blackberry and as such expected to respond
Employee responds as directed off the clock and then given hell about putting down OT for that 2 minutes of time (the time is reported in 15 minute blocks). So 6-8 emails over a weekend was adding 1-2 hours of OT
Later in a yearly online class required to be taken by ALL employees about time reporting it clearly states that working off the clock is prohibited without preapproval of the overtime. Later in that same class it clearly states that answering company e-mail is considered business. So the Employees nailed the company to the wall over it in the last couple weeks.
So the knee jerk reaction is the Data was cut off to most first line managers (and I am one) on my blackberry. I missed 2 conference calls last week as a result because I had no access to the call in numbers. LOL