Cell Phones in the Workplace?
The October/November 2009 issue of the ASRT Scanner magazine has an interesting article in the "Both Sides" column this month. The debate is: Should Cell Phones Be Allowed in the Workplace? I hadn't spent much time thinking about this issue until I read this debate. Under normal circumstances, I would have said NO to that question without hesitation. Then I got to thinking about the fact that I carry mine with me into work.
This debate is rather fundamental, no matter what type of work you do. Since I work in the health care industry, this particular article uses that as a focus point on the NO side of the debate. The YES side of the debate seems to be more well-crafted. There are a lot of good reasons, even though they are all personal, to have your cell phone with you at all times. It makes you easy to reach by those who might need to reach you. Nutshell review:
Pros: Friends and family can reach you whenever they need to and you can respond appropriately.
Cons: Your 'patient' (or your work in general outside the healthcare field) should have your undivided attention at all times.
The PRO side of this debate works really well as long as the cell phone user shows a little common sense. Common sense, on the other hand, is relative. Some cell phone users will know how to intelligently handle a cell phone at work while others will not. Should everyone be penalized for the stupidity of a few? In the sense of being fair to everyone, we generally have to deal with strict rules that supposedly aren't flexible to keep management from having to deal with making decisions based on judgement.
There is no real way to argue the CON side of this debate. The debater in the article simply uses the position that if you are using a cell phone, your patient is not receiving proper care or attention from you. The thought never arises that a worker might experience a little down time during the shift.
"I recommend that it become policy that all cell phones are turned off during work hours and kept in staff lockers, handbags or locked away with other personal items."
The author goes on to state that land line phones should be used for all personal emergency calls. I'm not really sure why that makes sense.
"I think technology is great; however, we really need to get back to basics."
In my humble opinion, the last quote, which is part of the closing statement of the argument, voids credibility.
I agree that your patient, customer, or whatever business you serve is entitled to your full attention. I have also never worked anywhere that didn't grant me an occasional opportunity to catch my breath, collect my thoughts, and simply take a moment on the job. Maybe it's just the environment I work in, but I work with some highly responsible and motivated people. That was, for the most part, my experience in clinicals throughout my schooling also. I'm sure that's not the case everywhere, but I'm glad it is for me...
