Dialing into the Real Question—Do You Have Cell Phone Policies at Work?

The matter of establishing cell phone policies at work can be quite controversial, considering most of us are never more than an arm’s length away from our smartphone devices. Many appreciate the comfort of having their cell phones near them just because that’s how they function outside of the workplace, while for others, their cell phones are an essential part of how they do their job. Most employers are of the belief that employee cell phone use impairs productivity, and should be restricted during work hours.

If you agree with these employers, then you need to be careful about how you frame the policy regarding cell phone usage, as being overly restrictive will only push employees to go to extreme lengths to find loopholes.

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Are Cell Phone Work Policies Essential for Every Organization?

We use our cell phones for many different reasons throughout the day—to find and contact key clients, call a cab while traveling to and from work, scroll for hours on social media, or complete the latest New York Times mini crossword to reassure ourselves that we haven’t lost our touch. Some of these uses are generally treated as “bad,” but there’s a time and place for all of a cell phone’s functionalities. Unfortunately, the workplace is not one of them.

Without cell phone usage guidelines on what is and isn’t allowed at work, it can become very easy to pick up the device and get lost in the latest sports updates rather than read through all the emails waiting in your inbox. It can also become a way for coworkers to distract each other without letting the supervisor know what they’re up to, which can be counterproductive. 

On the flip side, many employees just work better when they can freely use their devices. Some of them are better at pulling up relevant contacts and staying in touch with their clients when they have access to their cellphones, while others are able to work better when they can keep in touch with an ailing parent or young child and take comfort in the fact that they can contact their loved ones at any time. Cell phones do generally impede productivity, but it isn’t ideal to ask employees to check their phones at the door for the whole day until they can leave their 9-to-5. 

Benefits of Creating Policies for Cell Phone Use 

If you’re still wondering if it’s worth the effort to set up cell phone work policies, here are some reasons that should convince you.

• Reduces Distractions: Having your cell phone on your desk with the freedom to use it at any time might tempt workers to check their notifications more frequently, especially on a slow work day.
• Improves Productivity: When cell phone usage is controlled, workers have a better chance of focusing on their tasks. By putting phones on silent, employees are less likely to look at their phones every time they beep.
• Creates a Safer Work Environment: In many settings such as laboratories, warehouses, factories, etc. it can be dangerous to have cell phones that might ring suddenly and cause an employee to slip up.
• Limits the Work to One Platform: Employees streamline their work better when they use their work systems to download all of their information instead of having files scattered on their smartphones or shared over WhatsApp instead of the organization’s primary communication platform.
• Improves Data Security: When dealing with sensitive information, it is better to use company devices for all transactions and interactions rather than a personal cell phone.
• Limits Work Interactions to Work Hours: When using cell phones to call and conduct work-related tasks is normalized, it also opens up the option of colleagues calling the employee outside of work hours. Using a computer and ensuring all interactions happen over email or the company platform is better for everyone involved.

When you consider such outcomes, you might start to see the benefits of having policies around cell phone usage at work, however, employers need to also ensure there is some flexibility in the policy without being overly restrictive. 

Tips for Establishing Cell Phone Policies at Work

Guidelines on cell phone usage need to be very clear about the dos and don’ts within the workplace so every employee is aware of the regulations uniformly. They also need to have some room for flexibility and comfort as employees will never enjoy working in an overly rigid setup.

 As capable adults, they’re all quite qualified at monitoring and maintaining themselves in a professional manner. The policies only help set a general structure for them to follow. These tips for creating cell phone policy guidelines for your organization might help you enforce the rules more smoothly.

Understand the Needs of Your Organization

If your employees are required to regularly use their cell phones as part of their work to contact clients and customers, then it’s unfair to punish them for using their devices. The cell phone work policies should reflect the expectations of the workplace and respect the work employees do. 

In this case, you should consider providing employees with work phones for all their work-related tasks, and personal cell phone use at work can be restricted.

Establish How Much You Want to Restrict Cell Phone Use 

There are many different types of policies you can consider to regulate employee cell phone use. You might prefer to give employees the freedom to use the smartphones when they want but request that it be kept on silent or vibrate within the office premises. 

You could also have much stricter regulations that require employees to leave their phones in the staff room or in a specified area so it doesn’t distract them. Ensure the severity of the policy is appropriate for the workplace.

Consider When and Where Employees Are to Refrain from Carrying Their Cellphones

You can restrict employees’ cell phone use at their desks and ask them to step out to the lobby if the intention is to avoid disturbing coworkers when they take a call. Another option is to create rules for using their cell phone during work timings but allow free use of cell phones during their break time. 

Your cell phone work policies could also require that employees refrain from using their devices within a production zone but give them the freedom to use them outside of those hazardous areas. Understand the exact reasons for creating the cell phone policy and then set conditions for cell phone use. 

Create A Policy For Emergency Cell Phone Use

It helps to create guidelines for phone use during emergencies so that employees are not punished for attending to situations that require immediate attention. Having protocols in place can help everyone respond in an appropriate manner.

Set Consequences For Policy Violations

Cell phone policies at work will be most effective when employees know the consequences of violating them in advance. Using your personal cell phone at your desk is usually a minor offense and the consequences should be equally minimal, but for businesses that have a need for high security, it might be a much bigger issue. 

Ensure the policy appropriately deals with the violations that might occur.

With these guidelines in mind, creating cell phone policies for your workplace should be easy enough, as long as you scale it up or down in proportion to how central it is to your work culture.

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