How HR Should Handle Company's Mobile Phone Policy

According to an article by Forbes, an average employee wastes around five hours a week playing on their mobile phone. This article will explore whether or not you should be relaxing your company's mobile phone policy, and offer ways to improve the policy to increase productivity without sacrificing freedom.

It is an outdated policy to ban mobile phones

Allowing the use of mobile phones at work has become a necessity. Employees need their phones so they can work effectively and banning employees from using them is an outdated company policy that will only bring more harm than good.

Phones are a good way to take notes, creating reminders for meetings, contacting colleagues, and staying up to date with industry news. They are also useful for performing simple tasks that might require an item on the desk, such as calculator.

Mobile phones are a distraction

A study said that the phone doesn't even to be "ringing" to be distracting. When subjects were asked to carry out a digital task, those with a mobile phone placed on the desk near them, performed worse than those with a pad of paper placed on the desk near them.

Hire responsible people and give them freedom

Sometimes, it's less about restricting mobile phone usage, and more about hiring responsible people. As long as an employee's performance stays high, then there is not much of an argument.

If an employee is unable to use their mobile phone in the workplace, they will be more distracted from thinking about their mobile phones. Not having access to a mobile phone is more of a distraction than having access to it.

One thing an employer needs from all employees is common sense. It is best to hire an employee with enough common sense to recognise when their performance is being impacted by their mobile phone.

Confidentiality, data security, and risk management

Employers also need to consider if a mobile phone can bring a risk to the workplace. Employers should be careful if they're dealing with sensitive data. Mobile phones at work add to the risk if a business deals with sensitive data.

But it is possible to manage an open Bring Your Own Device policy, even in heavily regulated industries. The open policy will be effective as long as employees respect the strict protocol (such as making sure passwords are switched on all at all times) while bringing their own devices.

The overlap between life and work

It's a fact that work and life overlaps too much, therefore it's unrealistic for employers to ban the use of mobile phones. People are sometimes expected to respond to emails from home off-hours so it's only fair they are allowed to address personal matters on their mobile phones at work.

Employers should approach the company's mobile phone policy just like any other policies, such as flexible working hours.

Implementing a policy that works for everyone

There are pros and cons of allowing mobile phones in the workplace. If you are thinking creating a mobile phone policy, there are two important rules of coexistence for your mobile phone policy.

1. It may only sound when it's a call, just in case there's an emergency

2. All other sounds and vibrations should be turned off

The reason for these two rules is because an employee's mobile phone could cause distraction or interruption to other employees.

It is up to employers to decide whether to integrate mobile phones into the workplace or ban their usage entirely. What is important is to ensure the productivity in the workplace remains high and your employees stay happy.

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This article is based on John Crowley's Should HR be more relaxed about mobile phones at work