Appropriate use of personal mobile phone number

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mo3art

Registered User
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Sorry Clubman, hope the title is relevant!

What do you all consider appropriate use of an employee's mobile phone number? I know that this was discussed before and indeed I responded to someone else's query at that time but I've a slightly different difficulty.

I have a personal mobile phone number that members of my team have as I have given it to them for emergencies, I also sometimes work from home (they don't have my home number). I left the office early today and as I left informed them that if there were emergencies (was very clear on this), that they should contact me on my mobile. My phone started ringing outside of office hours with a direct call from a colleague on their business mobile and when it rang I wasn't in a position to answer it, I then got a text requesting specific information which I also wasn't able to provide at the time. The phone rang another 3 times from the same person in quick succession and I still wasn't able to answer. The phone then ran out of battery power so I resolved to contact the office when I had a charger plugged into the phone, I was only 30 mins away from home at this stage.

When I got home, i turned on the phone and discovered a voicemail and a text message. The voicemail was a request from my colleague to contact them urgently regarding the information they required. The text was from the same colleague's mobile phone stating "you had better not have turned off your mobile phone".

What do you think I should do? My gut feeling is that as I gave my colleagues my telephone number I have only myself to blame for the phone calls out of hours but that the text message is unacceptable.

By the way I did call my colleague back and respond to their query even after I had received the incessant phone calls and the text message above, I didn't have an opportunity to discuss the text with them as they hung up on me.
 
That text sounds completely inappropriate, in or out of office hours! How does the person who sent it relate to you in the chain of command? I would absolutely bring it to the attention of their superior, a personal mobile is a personal mobile. If it was a superior of yours, then I would make a bullying complaint, hope you still have the text.

I feel very strongly about data protection and respect of personal contact details, I am in the process of lodging a formal complaint over the sharing of my mobile phone details at my work place, if you let them get away with it now it will be much harder to complain should they do similar or worse in the future.
 
They are not a superior of mine, but they are a member of my team. Of course I still have the text!

In fairness I have given them my mobile phone number to contact me in the case of emergencies so I can't really complain about them calling me. I have though made the point to them before that as it's my personal number I reserve the right to answer it outside of office hours if I wish. I am not expected to take phone calls outside of office hours as part of my job description and if I do that it's my own goodwill.
 
The text could have been joking...sounds like a bit of a mountain/molehill scenario.
 

Only you know the context of the text message and what this individual is like. It may have been in jest...and the fact is you just couldn't take the calls at the time and rang back at the first opportunity. Common sense is the order of the day
 
Stifster said:
The text could have been joking...sounds like a bit of a mountain/molehill scenario.
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My thoughts exactly.

Overall, I think you have given your collegues permission to contact you on your mobile, okay on this occasion one of them went a bit too far but only know was it warranted. Was the information required urgently, were you the only one who could provide it, etc. Did you intentionally delay responding and maybe add to the situation?
 
When I'm busy in my workplace I often let calls go to voicemail until I can deal with them, never mind out of hours/on my mobile!

If a colleague left a message like that for me, I don't think I'd let it go. I don't know about making a formal complaint as such, but I would certainly put something to them in writing (by email?) pointing out that it's not acceptable and warning them that if it happens again you'll take it further.
 
Please clarify...
- member of your team means that they are a peer or that you are their supervisor/manager
- did they ring in context of your instructions/desires ie. was this for sure an 'emergency/urgent' call for which they did need to get hold of you. If yes then no one did anything wrong
- with regard to the text - you should approach the individual & remind them that it is a personal number that you provided & that it was a bit out of order to do soething like that. You know the individual involved so as prev mentioned above - was that done in jest or was it pointed. Depending on that then that will determine your action.
- as you advised people to ring you on your personal number then people themselves determine their own level of 'emergency' even though you might not thing there is one soo be prepared for that.
- have you considered getting a mobile for which the company will pay for?

ninsaga
 
Id say just a friendly chat should suffice. Remind them that a single instance of the same message is adequate and repitition of this as text or otherwise is timewasting and an annoyance.
 
mo3art said:
By the way I did call my colleague back and respond to their query even after I had received the incessant phone calls and the text message above, I didn't have an opportunity to discuss the text with them as they hung up on me.
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How 'friendly' is that?
I still think you should put down a marker, or the same thing will happen again. And a short written note will be taken more seriously than just 'having a word'. You don't need to make a big fuss about it, just make it clear where the boundaries lie.
 
Ok so to respond to some of the queries.

1. They are not my peer and not my supervisor or line manager. I provide administrative support to my team.
2. In my opinion the text was not sent in jest.
3. The company will not provide me with a mobile phone as far as I'm aware as I'm a member of the support staff.
4. I agree, having given my mobile number to my team to contact me in emergency I have no difficulty with that. I can choose to answer the phone or not in my own time. What I do have a difficulty with is the text message.
 
DOes the company re-imburse you in any way for the business use of your personal mobile. ?....if they do the whole argument takes on a slightly different slant.
 
Hi Mo3art,

I would definitely have words with this person. I would say they might be pretty embarassed. I would highlight to them that your mobile is not a work mobile and such texts are inappropriate.

The next thing then is the mobile itself, unfortunately once you do something nice and above and beyond your job (ie making your personal mobile available) it can get abused and people take it for granted. I would approach your mgt and say this a service your team are leveraging and that your company should pay for your bills in future if this is to continue.

If your company wont give you a mobile (pay the bill) then Id change your number, annoying I know.
 
DrMoriarty said:
In a lot of workplaces this would be a harassment case by now...
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I would agree with this opinion. In my view, the problem isn't to do at all with appropriate or inappropriate use of personal mobile phone number, but harassment of one staff member by another. It could just as easily happen on a fax- or voicemail-enabled landline phone, either at home or at work. I certainly wouldn't go to the bother of changing my phone number as a result of something like this (they could well be able to find you again on a new number via 11811 or 11850) but I would discreetly report it to my immediate superior.
 
TBH, it sounds like general bad manners as opposed to anything work related. I know if I ring a mobile, I'm prepared to accept that the person may be driving/in the loo/dealing with something else. Having a mobile doesn't make you available 24 hours a day, not to friends, not to family, not to work collegues.
 
To some extent, it depends on the urgency of the call. if the fire alarm is going off in the building and you are the only person who knows how to switch it off, then they are right to move mountains to contact you.

if it's just a routine admin issue where someone needs information urgently, but it's not an emergency, then they should not ring you more than once.

If the emergency arose through some error of yours, then I would be more relaxed about it.

People panic in emergencies and do and say things that they would not normally say. Have a chat with the guy first and see what their reaction is. If you can sort it out on a one-to-one basis, that is the best solution.

Brendan
 
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