HR Wants To Check Employees’ Personal Phones Anytime They Want, People Are Not Having It
Human Resources departments are vital to a healthy work environment. When they’re doing their job well, HR departments are a helpful tool offering support to employees and boosting company morale. They should ensure that the staff feels safe and comfortable in the workplace and with the policies that are in effect. Occasionally, however, employees can find themselves frustrated with HR departments who seem to only care about the interest of the company and completely disregard the workers.
A week ago, Reddit user pretendlawyer13 logged on to share an upsetting new policy enacted by the HR department of his job. He wrote to r/antiwork, a subreddit with almost 2 million members “who want to end work, are curious about ending work, and want to get the most out of a work-free life”, and many readers responded sharing frustration for the new policy. Keep reading to hear from pretendlawyer13 and some of the readers who provided support and alternative solutions.
And when you’ve finished reading this piece, keep up the anti work content with some more Bored Panda publications here and here.
More info: Reddit
Last week, an employee logged on to Reddit to share an unreasonable new policy his HR department implemented
Image credits: Unsplash (not the actual photo)
If you’ve ever seen The Office, you know that HR has a stereotype of being everyone’s least favorite person. (Poor Toby, he was just doing his best…) While HR is behind the scenes ensuring everyone gets paid on time and updating company policies, about 70% of employees report that they don’t trust their HR department. While they are the go-to contacts to report issues in the workplace such as discrimination or harassment, apparently employees are now seeking outside assistance to handle problems in the office. Blind Blog reports that “apps that provide informed advisers and legal resources for workers” are becoming increasingly popular to avoid interactions with HR.
But it doesn’t have to be this way, HR departments can get back on the side of employees. According to HR Gazette, employees just want to be seen and heard when they have concerns about working conditions. For example, “Employees usually complain about bad lighting and for good reason: too much or too little light lead to eye strain whereas harsh artificial lighting can easily trigger headaches or even migraines in some people. When employees don’t have headaches and back pain, the time they spend in the office will be more comfortable for them and as a result, they will be happier and more productive.” An HR manager who listens to employee concerns and actually implements changes for the benefit of workers is doing their job well. When conditions are improved, staff members become happier, and the overall morale of the company is boosted.
Image credits: pretendlawyer13
Image credits: Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Navigating an HR position is difficult, but it’s not impossible to keep employees satisfied. When the “human” part of human resources is focused on, situations like the story above can be avoided. Employers have no right to infringe on the privacy of employees, and HR has a responsibility to advocate for workers. Hopefully, the company in the story above has since listened to their employees and reconsidered this new policy.
Have you ever had to deal with unreasonable requests from HR? We’d love to hear your story in the comments below!
Readers responded with shared frustration and suggestions of solutions to the new policy
These people have lost their minds. He should refuse to let them look at his phone and if they fire him, file suit against them. If the police can't look at your phone without a warrant, your place of business can't take your personal phone and look through it.
I'm not sure about any law changes, but, I doubt there have been any since I worked for a massive wireless phone company a little over 10 years ago. We were specifically told that the employees personal phones were theirs, and that they were to be told that they should not give out their personal numbers, because they were provided with company owned phones and phone lines the retail environment, along with a few others. That new hires were not allowed to bring their personal numbers into the company, they would be given new phone numbers. And, yes, those company phones could be searched, and even monitored.
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By their logic, if you're working from home, they can search your house. They can't. Nor can they search your personal phone. It's illegal.
This makes me cringe. Especially as this exploiting, slave-like employee-employer relationship swaps over to Europe! Luckily we have strong law! But those are nothing if you aren't aware of them!!! So get yourself informed, working people! Don't let the same circumstances happen to you that are obviously common in the US!!!
These people have lost their minds. He should refuse to let them look at his phone and if they fire him, file suit against them. If the police can't look at your phone without a warrant, your place of business can't take your personal phone and look through it.
I'm not sure about any law changes, but, I doubt there have been any since I worked for a massive wireless phone company a little over 10 years ago. We were specifically told that the employees personal phones were theirs, and that they were to be told that they should not give out their personal numbers, because they were provided with company owned phones and phone lines the retail environment, along with a few others. That new hires were not allowed to bring their personal numbers into the company, they would be given new phone numbers. And, yes, those company phones could be searched, and even monitored.
Load More Replies... By their logic, if you're working from home, they can search your house. They can't. Nor can they search your personal phone. It's illegal.
This makes me cringe. Especially as this exploiting, slave-like employee-employer relationship swaps over to Europe! Luckily we have strong law! But those are nothing if you aren't aware of them!!! So get yourself informed, working people! Don't let the same circumstances happen to you that are obviously common in the US!!!
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