This week’s reading is interesting as a 2015 Pew Report discusses the reliance on smartphones by the less affluent. Today smartphones range from less than $50 to more than $1000. While I still use a camera and computer to take photos and edit them for publishing on social media or work websites I am generally surprised how well some people know the ins and outs of hundreds of apps that are on their phones that increase productivity while still keeping connected to the world.
This reliance on smartphones also means that the less affluent are more likely to use them for tasks traditionally reserved for larger screens. For example, smartphone owners with lower incomes were especially likely to use their mobile device when seeking out and applying for jobs, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center report (Vogels, 2021).
The report was published eight years ago but I can’t imagine not being able to do nearly everything from a phone. Also a shift from eight years ago is the abundance of free wi-fi in nearly any type of business you enter.
COVID-19 crippled the global workforce nearly three years. Organizations implemented new ways and used new communication programs to connect their employees. I had to learn Microsoft Teams as a way to communicate in meetings and the use of email drastically changed as Teams allows phone calls, chat, file sharing and collaboration in a way that wasn’t familiar to me or many of our employees that ranged from 20 to 70 years old. Now accessing Teams meetings via phone allows us to stay more connected but it does have its issues. When you were away from the desk in a meeting or away doing other tasks you may get an email or a phone call that you would get to at a later time. Now with work cell phones or your personal phone number on a roster people will text or call you at any time. That has been an issue for many professionals that don’t disconnect from work.
Cell phones have changed work and personal life in significant ways, and as with any tool, they can be used for good or bad. Companies see this firsthand as their employees can be both more distracted and more productive thanks to these devices. Here are some stats on cell phones at work (Kolmar, 2022).
93% of U.S. employees who own a smartphone and spend at least a third of their time away from a desk use their cell phones for work every day.
55% of employees would rather use their own cell phone for work than a desk phone.
There are a variety of reasons this could be true. For example, employees are already familiar with their cell phones and may not want to figure out a new device, or they like to more easily save and call contacts as they drive or conduct other out-of-office business.
Whatever the reason for it, though, this much professional cell phone use also comes with a downside: Over 30% also said that they’d lost business or a client due to poor cellular service.
84% of companies have a BYOD (bring your own device) policy. This means 84% of companies allow or expect their employees to use their own cell phones for work.
51% of employees use company-mandated apps to do work on their cell phones.
This includes apps for tasks such as company-wide communication and data storage systems that IT departments manage. Many employees also use additional apps to do their jobs that IT doesn’t mandate or even know about.
Cell phones and the apps developed to make our work lives more productive but when does the work day end.
According to Mark Cropley, “Work has a nasty habit of creeping up on some people. Before realising it they find themselves working in the evenings, either finishing projects or checking emails to make life easier for the next day” (Khomami, 2015).
As Cropley stated, “With smartphones, it’s easier to check emails at home, and the current economic situation means people are more worried about losing their jobs and want to be seen to be working hard. But though working in the evenings might be OK in the short term, in the long term it can create serious health issues.
“People who can’t switch off … have sleeping problems, concentration problems, and other issues. These are a result of both physiological and behavioural mechanisms,” he said.
A key part of the message highlighted how good leadership respects individuals personal time. The predictability helps ensure uninterrupted personal time outside duty hours. He also encouraged leaders to engage in direct, timely and effective communication. He also focused on communication should be an emergency circumstance when Soldiers are on leave.
The military is a 24/7 business but most of that business is conducted during duty hours. While those hours may vary it the respect of personal time that can change the morale of a unit.
While this memo is a few weeks old it would be interesting how well people are complying with this and for those that can’t disconnect from work and push it onto others when they are off they are setting a bad example for their subordinates.
I will answer a call from my boss after hours but it would be out of the ordinary and I would expect it to be significant information that I would need.
I’m not connected to my phone as much as others and sometimes I just leave my phone on my desk when I am out and about in the building. I figure if it is important someone will find me and let me know. If it’s not too important I will see a missed call.
25 Trending Cell Phones In The Workplace Statistics [2023]: Cell Phone Use In The Workplace – Zippia. (2023, January 16). https://www.zippia.com/advice/cell-phones-at-work-statistics/
Khomami, N. (2018, February 14). Technology “stopping people switching off from work.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jun/30/technology-switch-off-from-work-productivity-health
Vogels, E. A. (2021, September 10). Digital divide persists even as Americans with lower incomes make gains in tech adoption. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/22/digital-divide-persists-even-as-americans-with-lower-incomes-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/
