... How is checking your phone while on a (presumably unpaid) lunch break meant to create a WHS issue?

I agree with the ridiculousness of the manager and applaud the malicious compliance that followed, but I'd just like to respond to the commenter that thinks "cell phones are so important". They are not, we make them so. How do you think we lived before they existed? We live our lives faster now, but only because we choose to. Before cell phones, all these things still happened. The vet had to make the call on putting down the animal, and you found out later. The husband had to wait to make his big purchase (something that should be given some time to ponder anyway). The day care had to consult the form you filled out at enrollment on your directions to treat emergencies. Life still goes on if we're not plugged in 24/7. Try it, you might find some relief from both anxiety and depression.

No, there was a huge gap between single-income families and cell phones! Let me give you a pre-cell story from the late 1980s. I was an eight-year-old latchkey kid. We'd just moved from rural Nebraska to Southern California. Dad taught at a school an hour away, mom taught at a school halfway across town. I went to a school maybe a quarter mile from home, so I walked there and back, and was home alone for about two hours before mom got home. When I got home, the rule was I had to call mom's school and leave a message with the secretary. Mom would check with her before her last class of the day. Complicated system, but it worked. We lived in a housing tract at the base of a scrubby mountain, and one day, it burned. There were maybe a dozen of us who lived in that housing tract at that school who were latchkey kids, and the school had us all wait in the office while they called our parents. They called mom's school, the secretary went to her room to tell her and take over for her there.

As a RN I can say most healthcare management operates this way.

As many here use the "but before cell phones..." argument: yes, people managed their lives before cell phones were invented. They also managed their lives before cars were invented, before public transport was invented, before electricity was invented, before telephones were invented or even before smithing and metal casting were invented. Every new tool we invented changed the way we live our lives. Cell phones made us available at all times and that fact is already cemented in our collective minds. Society expects you to be available, even when you are in work. So, if you can choose to ignore or turn off your phone during the 8 hours or more of work, you are not the great person, that can still live without their phone, you are in the privileged position of not needing it.

Pathetic article. Whatever happened to going to work and working. You have much deeper issues if you think no cells phones at work is an issue. Sad souls

Sounds like a bunch of children to me, my last job was for a large software/hardware company and phones were not permitted on the phone. 2 reasons, first for security and secondly, NO, people can't stay off their phones and get distracted. Anyone arguing against that is probably the type of person that does mess around on their phone while working.

Yes, MOST adults will know how to work with their phone. However, there's always "that one" - remember? The one who ruins it for everyone else.

Generations of people managed to live happy productive lives before cell phones and I doubt many lives were lost because people couldn't chat back and forth all day long. Like omg, you know? I mean, it was like...... If parents were at work and kids were in school it was understood that unless it was an actual emergency they weren't available to talk. Everyone got caught up at the dinner table and it made for good conversation. Then, after homework was done, we were free to call friends or go see them. I didn't see my friends everyday but when we did hang together there was a lot to talk about. The work ethic demonstrated here is pathetic. Your manager at work asks you to do something completely reasonable and because you don't like it you feel free to respond with 'malicious compliance'? That's immature and counterproductive; all involved in the retaliation deserve to be fired for behaving like spoiled children.

I’m a CNS and I use my phone all the time at work to check MicroGuide which is an aid to prescribing, my calculator, access to the national drug formulary, also use it to communicate with my remote consultants. Not ever with any patient details but just if I need them to bleep me etc to discuss something. They are an incredibly helpful and quick way of accessing up to date information, which benefits patient care. Shared laptops and desktop computers on wards can be slow or occupied. There are also tons of apps for healthcare. I’m afraid it is a necessary thing in todays world for many health workers.

RN here. Only reason why I carry my cell phone is to look up medications, look up information medical related, help with translating, show pictures or diagrams to help the patient understand their medical issues, and calculator. Otherwise, there is really no other good reason to have your cell phone on you. If it is truly an emergency, your friends and family should contact you on the hospital main line.

Im a nurse in a healthcare setting. This us a real thing. You cannot have your phone on your person, it must be locked in your locker. You cannot be on your phone until in your car. This has caused a lot of issues. I know of no one that answers their phone in the presence of patients. Management is rediculous. Now, back to PPE during a pandemic. Loved the response we got..., "You are lucky to be employed ".

When I worked in classified areas my job for military literally checked you and kept it outside and you cannot access your phone until you left that room. I have had times where I was in this area for 8 and 9 hours a day without even leaving. So I get what it's like to not have access to your phone during work and it can be a pain. And at this point I had a getting a car wreck that killed my dad and by the grace of God she survived. She was in ICU for month and two more months after that was in regular hospital. I was the main income for her and she didn't even live near me. My sister was in kidney failure at the same time in a different hospital. So I could go 8 9 hours when they needed me for something and the doctors couldn't act or anything without talking to me. So what I ended up doing was finding people even if was just my best friend to take these calls for me. And as always someone that will help take up the slack even if it's just a friend. society I survived without them

My God before cell phones how did anyone. Do any adulting at all amazing

A little power trip that went over a cliff.

I had a boss way back when that said we were not allowed to take calls when we were operating a computer. My girls, at home from school, one 13, one 11. It was raining and my 13 year old had gotten the bottom of her pants wet on the way home. We had plugs on the floor and they sparked when she walked over one of them. So, of course she called me. My boss gave the call to another girl in the office. What happ6after that was not nice but I almost got my boss fired for her stupid rule.

Just skip all the fluff by the author here and read the part that you can click the little share button on and the story is much better. It doesn't need all the fluff we explaining exactly what you read...

I can understand if an employee stays on their phone too much without working, however, we've had managers say the same thing (food service) and we complied for a while, until a manager "neglected" to tell a parent her child had called from school, sick. If it's slow and someone texts, you should be able to check quickly, wash your hands, and move on. Sometimes with different shifts, the person on the other side might not even know the person they've contacted is at work. This is where compromise is in order. An employee abusing privileges, should get reprimanded, but not the entire crew. My 2 cents.

So I guess Staff Maliciously Complies is the new internet sensation sweeping the nation.

I work retail. I only do it to get out of the house a few days a week. Sometimes they want me to come in leaving my 15 and 12 year old home by themselves. So they text me through out the few hours I’m at work.And my husband, a cop, also texts me if anything serious is happening or he’s upset about something. They’re used to me being the stay at home mom/spouse still. So my boss said no more phones allowed on us. To put our smart watches on airplane mode. And I don’t. They can fire me before I can’t get ahold of my family. Oh and we’re expected to do more work and no raises was given. Making minimum wage