Do you leave your cell phone on when you're at work?

Currently I am student teaching in an elementary school. we are to keep our cell phones on us at all times and the teachers have the principal's cell, home, and the school office's number in their phones. The phones are to always be on vibrate or silent unless you have a strong urge to be in the principal's office. I think that it is rude for teacher's to have their phones on to where the students can hear it ring because if a student is caught using their phones they have to pay $15 to get it back. That is district policy. On the other hand, I was in highschool when Columbine happened and so as a teacher I feel that my phone can be a safty tool. I never talk on it in front of the students. I find it anoying to go into a store to see the employees talking on their personal phones. To me it shows that they are not even willing to pretend to give 100% at work. I have issues with phone use because I have been a student for the past 3 years and am so tired of hearing phones ring during lectures and meetings. On the other hand I do have a part time job at a local college and I take my phone with me and even have the ring on loud. If I am with a student or my boss and my phone rings I say excuse me and hit the ignore button. Generaly I am alone at that job and the only rules about phone use are that you stop any conversations and help any student that walks up, then you can talk on your phone some more.

I do and they don't. It depends on the situation. In my case, I don't deal with customers other than internal customers over the phone. Pretty much everybody here leaves their ringer on. If I were in a place where I dealt with customers all the time, I'd most likely put it in vibrate. Or turn it off.

i actually dont have a cell phone, but where i work, its a small office and there are about 12 staff members. the office is rather low key (we dress semi casual as well) and others do leave their cell on. i dont really think its a big deal to be honest.

When I'm working I'm selling my time to the company. That means they get my total attention. I leave my phone on vibrate and check it during breaks and lunch. The only reason it's on at all is so I can be available to my adult sons if they need me. I don't think people should be allowed to access their cell phones at work. That is stealing from the employer, and cheating him. People should re-learn how to focus on the task at hand. Cell phones have been blown out of proportion until we are letting them control us and run our lives--and we cheat our employers, violating the bargain we made with them to give them our time and attention in exchange for a wage.

I don't own a cell phone and I don't work.. hubby doesn't own a cell phone either. But I can tell you I absolutely hate seeing people on their cell phones when they're at work!! See, my hubby could actually use one because he leaves the store and goes out and visits his customers (he's like a repo guy for a furniture/appliance store), so the store actually gives him a cell phone to take on the road. As a customer I do not want to see someone yapping on their cell phone when I should have their attention, and it would seriously tick me off if their phone rang in the middle of serving me! I think more employers should have a cell phone ban during work hours, unless you have a job like my hubby's where the cell phone is actually needed for the work!

My company does have a policy about not using cell phones for personal use during office hours. In case of emergencies, we are advised to leave them on silent. That is what I do. I would not be comfortable switching off my cell phone as I need to be accessible to my family at all times. However, I make sure I switch the phone to silent mode as soon as I walk in to the office. Loud ringtones that play trendy music or popular tunes may be fun at home or in a social setting, but they create the wrong impression in an office setting - with or without customers around.

I usually leave my cellphone on at work. We're not allowed to use our phones at work, only while we're on breaks. So I leave my phone on but it's on silent and I occasionally check it whenever I go on breaks.

Hi jess. I don't work, but I tend to leave my cell phone on anyway. LOL I don't always hear it though, even with the ringer on, as I usually keep it in my purse. My husband has to keep his cell phone on, even at work. His boss may need to call him to let him know what's going on for the next day or there may be additional work needed to be done the same day, so my husband always has to be ready for it. Personal calls should be kept to a minimum though, unless it is an emergency, that is. When people are working they shouldn't be yapping it up on the phone, especially if it isn't part of their job. It just isn't professional at all. Happy mylotting!

Yes, I always leave my cell phone on at work. I work nights (10pm-6am) and the ONLY reason someone would call me during those times would be for an emergency...and most likely a bad one. So I always want to make sure that if my family needs to get hold of me, they can.

well it depends really..it depends to the place where i will go and spent my time...when going to the church it is really strictly prohibited and forbidden to bring cellphone while on the inside of the church..you have to leave it at home or leave it at the church office...because it's a destruction when you bring it inside the church..

In our workplace leaving a cellphone on and with a ringing or message tone that others could hear is not a big deal because we don't interact face to face with clients. I leave my cell phone on when I'm working. I don't switch it to silent mode either, but I make sure that the tone is only loud enough to reach my ears. All other people in our company do this, including my bosses.

I keep my cell phone open for 24 houres each day. I will leave it on vibrate when I am in a meeting.

i don't need to face the customers during working hours so I put my mobile phone on the desk beside my computer. i work in the R&D department where the atmosphere is quite free and easy. coworks even can chat while working. it is no big deal to have the phone ring at our work place.

I think it depends on your work or what you're doing and where you are whether you will have to set your phone in silent mode or not. In my case, I need to hear my phone while I'm at work since my boss or co-workers may call me anytime so that means I'm using it officially but I make sure the ringtone will not disturb everybody in the workplace. I also need it since I'm expecting overseas calls anytime of the day. However, if I'm in a meeting..well that's the time I turn it off of course. But loud ringtones are annoying and disturbing.. I guess those people just want to hear their new ringtones.

I prefer mine to be on tone one but in my bag....i dont' like it rining in the middle those tones can be really anoying... Nice topic jessp

I am working in a BPO company, our company doesn't permit its employees to carry their phones while working. So as a result, they have currently provided a place for our phone. It's like a locker. It's where we leave our phones.

Well, for the company I'm working at, there are no strict policy on cell phone. In general, most of us leave our cell phone with our ringer on. Thus, if someone's phone ring, most of us will hear it. I do leave mine with the ringer on most of the times too, except when I'm in a meeting. I will then turn off the ringer, and switch to vibration mode. Well, I think that's okay, as we are in an office environment and we don't get guests or customers in our office most of the times. However, I do think that it's rude if the phone rings during a meeting. Well, I did encounter before during our internal meetings that one of my colleagues cell phone ringing. I will say that it's a bit disruptive...

If you work in front of clients, then it's really unprofessional to be seen texting, while they wait in line or something.. I work as an auditor, when I'm in my cubicle, I leave my phone in my table, but I put it in vibrate, I hate those who leave their ringing tones on, cause when they are not there to answer the call, the whole office would be disturbed by the continuous ringing of the phone... When I'm in the auditee's place of work though, or I'm interviewing someone, I usually just put my phone in my pocket, I don't text in front of the client. it's just not really nice to look at.

I suppose to an extent it does depend on the job and the culture within your work place, and how formal or not it is. I used to work in retail and we were not allowed to keep our phones with us on the shop floor, which I think is right - who wants a shop assistant wandering around talking on their phone when they should be serving you?! But I used to go up to our staff room, where we had lockers for our stuff, and you would hear peoples phones ringing all the time. I never understood what the point was of leaving your phone on when its sitting in your locker!

yes. for emergency purposes, I always turn it on. But I also make sure it is in silent mode.