What is a more ubiquitous technology than cell phones? Everyone has
them, from children to adults to…your employees. How do you manage
when cell phone usage on the job gets out of hand at your company? The
pros at
Support Center recently tackled this tricky question.
Question:
What are the laws regarding cell phones at work? Personal use by our
employees has gotten out of hand. Can we change our policy to say that
cell phones are not permitted on the premises?
Answer from Sarah, HR Pro:
Thank you for your question. I can certainly understand the frustration
of having employees on their phones frequently and the need to implement
a policy to limit this use. There is no law saying you cannot implement
a policy prohibiting cell phones on the property, but I would recommend
a different approach.
Banning cell phones from the property would likely decrease employee
morale as there are times (e.g., break times or family emergencies) when
employees may need to be able to make or take personal calls. Instead
of restricting phones altogether, you could instead restrict cell phone
use to break times and to designated areas away from employee
workstations where an employee can make those phone calls.
In either situation, eliminating all calls or restricting use, you will
want to address how your employee’s family members will reach them
during working hours in case of a true emergency. One option is to have
the calls filter through your reception desk. Alternately, it may be a
good idea to have a second line to your company that is for employee
emergencies.
Whatever you decide, you need to hold your employees accountable to
the standards you set. Employees who fail to adhere to these standards
should be disciplined according to your policy.
Sarah
has extensive Human Resources experience in the legal, software,
security and property preservation industries. She has a Business
Communications degree from Villa Julie College (now Stevenson
University) and a master’s certificate in Human Resources Management and
a Strategic Organizational Leadership certification from Villa Nova
University. Sarah is also a member of the National Society of Human
Resources Management and has managed the HR function for small startup
companies to mid-sized/large organizations.
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