Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp & Co. at work. Bosses can theoretically prohibit private cell phone use, and dismissals would also be possible.
Do you have your cell phone next to you at your desk during working hours? Yes? This is normal in today’s working world. An entrepreneur from the region estimates that his employees spend up to 20 percent of their working hours on their smartphones. In an eight-hour day, that’s more than an hour and a half that he pays for the time on Instagram, WhatsApp and Snapchat.
The subject of cell phones in the workplace has become a problem. But very few bosses intervene. The fear of making yourself unpopular with your employees and provoking dismissals is too great. Many entrepreneurs lack a concept. Because smartphones are also used for work, it is difficult to tell when employees are privately on the cell phone.
Employee smartphones are prohibited at the supermarket checkout
At Spar there are clear rules: employees who work in the stores are not allowed to bring their private cell phones to work. The full attention should be given to the customers, says Nicole Berkmann, company spokeswoman for Spar. “There are enough breaks to check the cell phone.” The situation is different with the employees in the headquarters. They have their cell phones with them at work. Often they are company cell phones that are also needed for work. But smartphones also offer advantages for the world of work. The fact that the company’s systems are often installed on the company cell phones makes it easy to switch to the home office.
“Telephoning is not the problem in itself, it is Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that I would define as time robbers,” says the entrepreneur, who prefers to remain anonymous. He has already given a lot of thought to the subject. A just solution is not feasible, he says. “There is a lot of work going on anyway. One person gets a coffee four times in the morning, the other goes to the toilet six times, and the next person takes hourly breaks to smoke.” So where is the line drawn? Cell phone use is difficult to control. There are companies in which the smartphones are handed in every morning, or companies that install jammers on the premises. That is not his attitude. “We have to fight for every employee.” That is also the reason why he wants to remain anonymous. He is too concerned about annoying employees. As the research showed, other companies feel the same way. Hardly anyone wants to comment on this topic.
Monitoring a ban on cell phones is not feasible in practice
There are always inquiries to the Chamber of Labor about using cell phones at work. “Basically, I owe the company the work done,” says Heimo Typplt, head of the legal department of the Salzburg Chamber of Labor. But it depends on how the cell phone is actually used. Most employers understand that you have to be available for important private matters. The management usually accepts appointments with the doctor or with the heating technician, which often have to be agreed during working hours, says Typplt.
However, if the smartphone is used excessively, the service user can forbid it. “If there is a ban, then it is a breach of duty, which in extreme cases can lead to dismissal,” says Typplt. He has never had a case where such drastic measures have been taken. “Reason usually sets in first.” In any case, monitoring such a ban is not practically feasible. “There is no boss in a larger company who is always behind his employees.”
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