Who amongst us doesn’t like to use our cell phone? Your family and friends can reach you at any time, for any reason, no matter where you are and what you are doing, you can find something to happening or some good one-liners that make you laugh, even at work. While that accessibility may be a great way to stay in touch with your loved ones and also being stress-free for some time in your hectic day’s work. But Having good cell phone etiquette at your workplace is much more important. A study by the University of Texas at Austin found that just the presence of your smartphone can reduce “available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they’re giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand.”
Our work environments may have changed significantly in the past few years, but our ideas about respect and basic courtesy haven’t changed that much. Establishing a few professional courtesies when it comes to your smartphone use at work will improve your reputation as a dedicated, collegial employee and coworker.
In some or the other way, it’s a decision of the companies and its policymaker. Some give them a free hand to use a cellphone by thinking that giving freedom to an Employee will make them conscious to act accordingly and work on a more focused way in their working time and maintaining a good balance between using the phone and working well. While some have strict policies too, thinking that the work is the main priority while you are in an office and other things can wait, to get the best out of the invested time. wither of the way, It’s crucial to set clear and formal boundaries regarding cellphone use in the office. Consider this simple list of rules to help keep everyone present and productive at work
Before getting to the Etiquettes, there are some rules you must follow.
Keep your phone out of sight
Text minimally
Making sure that your phone is with you, of course, a person runs work as well as life on the same hand, so putting the phone in a locker is never a good to go option from my perspective, so one must follow some basic rules by ourselves, put your phone in your sight but out of your subconscious mind, “it should not control you” so whenever it vibrates you are always keen to pick up and start texting or giggling. It seems hard or rude, but believe it or not, that affects your progress in an unnoticed way. Try it sometimes, and you can see the difference.
Some Cell Phone Etiquette Tips for Cell Phone Users in the Workplace
Give your undivided focus to the person in front of you
At any time if, you are in a meeting or having a conversation with someone nearby, give that person your full attention of yours. Do not pick up your phone to answer a phone call or send a text in-between that. It is rude always and suggests that you are not paying attention and do not care about what that person is saying, so if you take care of such thing, now think it in-between a business conversation, the effect of that multiples 2x.
Remove your phone from your lap
I would say, never be that person who always has their phone in their lap, thinking they’re hiding it from the speaker or a person in the meeting, and are constantly keeping their head down, checking emails, and sending texts. People notice this more than you think, they won’t say anything, but it can create a negative impression for sure. You want to appear more engaged and a team player then your focus is always a necessity. If you are expecting an urgent call, mention it before the meeting begins and then excuse yourself and step away when you take the call.
Silence your device
This is so obvious, always make your phone in a silent mode. Unless and until you are in your own office, hose chimes you get to alert you of a new email may not last as long as a full ringtone but they’re still annoying and distracting to your coworkers when they’re going off every few minutes. Let the invention of voice mail take the call if you step away for a cup of coffee or a meeting.
personal calls deserve a private place
Hearing someone talk loudly on a cell phone, especially about personal business is distracting and discourteous to coworkers trying to do their jobs nicely when you are at home one always avoid office conversation from family, so do the same for your workplace. It’s nice to go to an empty conference room or other private location to have our calls.
Avoid using Bluetooth earpieces at work
Some people using a Bluetooth headset to take phone calls and multi-task during their working hours, but the downside of using this type of earpiece is that most people tend to talk much louder than they usually do over the calls. Also using it for your calls is always unprofessional in many ways, it summers up in the upper rules too.
Smartphones may be essential for us, but it’s important to create boundaries also. Collaborating with your employees will allow you to create a set of rules that fit your specific workplace needs. It needs a separate topic to cover the usage of a smartphone on your day to day life, not just in an office etiquette, it is more important to use it more smartly, and not let it have a command over you. People always confuse between “nowadays we need to use that” but actually “you want to use that”, it is always a matter of choice than the rules, which can make a difference in your life.
