The ubiquitous cell phone has created an interesting collection of employer policies.
In many businesses, the cell phone is a valid tool for doing one’s job. Those companies generally don’t have a policy limiting personal cell phone use, as it would be impossible to enforce.
In others, particularly in service industries interacting with the public, the cell phone is a customer service nightmare. Certainly a chunk of those have “allowed only during official breaks” rules, and another chunk forbids them entirely. I certainly don’t know the answer, but I know one unintended consequence I wish businesses would consider.
The ladies room. A limited number of stalls, even in larger businesses. In my experience, which I readily admit is NOT a statistical sample, an incredible percentage of the time at least one stall is taken by an employee sneaking in a phone call and some social media. Their visits aren’t short and the appropriate etiquette for others in the room isn’t clearly defined. I almost feel guilty flushing due to the noise it creates for the rogue employee!
Please service industry leaders! Add more stalls or provide a different place for your employees to handle their personal business while at work!
Every manage in every business should think about the unintended consequences of policies before implementation.
PS: I will rely on the caring and experience of a man to inform you whether or not the problem impacts the mens room.