My Personal Cell Phone for Work

I work at a public elementary school.
NONE of the staff, has "work provided cell phones."
Not even the Principal.
Per school staff and employees....while AT work, if their cell phone rings, AND the school number pops up on their phone screen, they answer it. OR if their office plugged-into-the-wall phone, rings. Except, Teachers cannot always answer.
The school also has, walkie-talkies and this is for certain.... staff roles, depending on what they do, on campus. It is not for ALL of the staff.
And at a school, at least where I work, it is common... that staff are not just sitting at a desk all day. They are, about the campus. Hence, they need to be contacted somehow. And that is by phone. Cell phone. Work provided or not.

My Husband, works at a private company. They do NOT give the employees cell phones. The employees use their own personal cell phones. AND the clients, per what their position is, will call them.

At tax time, cell phones IF used for work, can be written off per work use.

Did you not answer it because they don't pay for it? I'm in sales so maybe it's different but I can be reached EIGHT different ways (some paid by my employer) and I'm going to respond to everything I can.

I suggest that you talk with your supervisor about why you didn't answer the phone and how she can reach you. Your post makes it sound like you didn't answer because it's your personal phone and you want them to provide you with a phone. If thats the case I suggest you keep the phone turned off and put away while working. Tell your supervisor that you aren't willing to use the phone at work and why if it's because of limited minutes or something personal and related to the phone. Know that your supervisor may feel that you're not willing to be cooperative. Or she may be able to payfor more minutes.

If you won't use your cell phone because you want them to provide one then this is apt to cause you difficulty. I suggest that the supervisor will view youas ddifficult and could result in your not getting along with her. You could find yourself without a job.

I suggest, because it's a start up school, that it's likely they don't have money for phones. Or that it will take time to get them. However, I know of no school that provide cell phones to the entire staff.

Or, are you saying that your office doesn't have a land line and they assumeyou will use your cell phone. Then talk with her Iin a respectful way with the intent of working this out.

If you're concerned about her yelling at you and not about using your phone I suggest you just let it go. We all react in frustration at times.

After your SWH: I've been a public school teacher and have friends who are teachers. We all have spent our own money so that we can provide a better rducation or for our own convenience. I suggest you do the same with your phone. Using your phone provides you with better communication, a plus for you as well as the school and students. Consider it your involvement in community service.

As a teacher and a police officer I provided time and money unrelated to my work for the good of my community. I suggest if you look at this as your way to give to others you will be less resentful.

Instead of just making a remark, start a conversation. Ask her when it is and isn't appropriate to answer your phone, even if you know it's her calling - if you have a student in your office, do you interrupt the conversation to answer the phone? (seems to me like you shouldn't)

Also, tell her that you don't mind occasionally using your personal cell phone for work, but that you can't use up all your minutes for work unless they pay for some of the bill (maybe the difference between your current plan and one with more minutes).

Since it sounds like you're new to working with each other, just talk it out and figure out what she expects and how you can reasonably meet her expectations.

If my boss calls me on any phone during work hours, I answer. Often times I'll answer outside of working hours too, because it sets me apart from the people who don't go above and beyond. Especially if you have no landline and that is the only way for your boss to reach you, you should have answered. In your position as a counselor, your services could have been needed immediately, and you weren't available.

You should talk to your boss about expectations, but I can tell you if I was your boss, I would EXPECT to be able to reach you during work hours at the least. You took a job at a start up school....I think you should have assumed some things would be out of the ordinary and you may need to answer work calls on your personal phone sometimes.

Ask her to please send out a memo to the school employees, detailing the school's policy about employees using their personal cell phones during school hours. Tell her that you are unclear about personal cell phones being used instead of the school's landlines and that you would hate for people to think that you are using your personal cell phone to make personal calls during school hours. You don't want to be misunderstood by anyone.

If they don't have a written policy, then now is the time for them to have one. If she says she doesn't have time to write one, tell her that you would be happy to write it for the school as long as she tells you what's supposed to be in it.

Are you talking about a call every now and then or does your boss call your cell constantly? If it is not all the time, then I think you need to suck it up. The reality is that you are expected to be accessible during work hours at lease. If you throw a temper tantrum about it, you are likely to set yourself apart as being a difficult employee.

I wish people would not answer their personal cell phones when working! can not believe how juvenile some people are about cell phones and texting at work.

to answer your question. I love - I don't answer my personal cell phone during work hours,

and would put it back on the boss, what would be an acceptable way to reach me ? have her brainstorm the solution.

maybe this is obvious do you not have an office to check into everyonce in a while where she could leave a message or email? are you in many diff places through out the day?

it could be her issue was more that you couldn't be reached, is being reachable part of your job? just trying to see it from her perspective

edited: I realize I wasn't very clear, but neither were you. your comment about not answering an office phone is confusing. why would someone not answer an office phone, thats what it's there for, ignoring calls would be bad practice. Also, Guidance counseling generally doesn't mean you are closeted on the moon for 8 hrs, generally a guidance counselor would be assessable during certain times of the day, even if you didn't have an office or a phone, you would not be in isolation where your boss would be unable to find you or communicate with you. So if the issue is that you check email in the am, at lunch and the end of the day, and you would prefer your boss reach you that way, then you need to respectfully tell her that, If you have no access to phone, email, walkie talkie, or a holler down the hallway, then that is an issue and you can ask your boss what time line they have for installing one of those devices and what they would like to use in the mean time since you would prefer to use your cell only after work hours. I think you need to chill about this and change your number/ not give it out if you don't want to use it for work.

It is not unusual for jobs to require their employees to have a cell phone and use it for work. Since you don't have a land line in your office/workspace, then it means your cell is also your work phone. You may not be allowed the option of saying No and still keep your job.

Sometimes companies will pay for all or part of the cost, but many do not. It doesn't change the requirement. You can ask for them to chip in but in a school setting I'd say don't hold your breath even if it wasn't just starting up.

Of course, you usually should not answer when you're working with a student or in a meeting, but you should return the call as soon as you're done. If you were not interacting with a person and didn't take the call, or you didn't return the call because it was your 'personal' cell, then you're lucky you only got scolded.

In any case, this boils down to what your job requirements are and the expectations of your boss. That is what you need to talk about. Specifically, does she want you to take her call even if you're with another person, or can you call back.

I would just answer that you don't answer your personal cell phone during work hours.

"I'd be happy to answer it if the school intends to reimburse me for my plan. Otherwise, my personal cell phone is not an option for reaching me during the day."

Rhonda

Did your boss call you during work hours? If so, then you pick up the phone. If you were in a meeting? then you should have called her back and let her know that. If after hours? Your boss SHOULD have left a message.

However, you did take a position at a new school. I believe you're overseas as well, correct? I would have asked the expectations prior to accepting the position. If it required me to be available at off-hours - I would have asked if the school reimburses for cellular service or provides a dedicated cell phone for school use only. If not. I would have stated MY expectations regarding off-hours cell phone usage.

If you are a guidance counselor - I would hazard to guess there might be a child or a parent who might need to get in touch with you during off-hours. Especially if there are serious problems.

Start communicating. Yelling is NOT acceptable and not productive in the workplace.

"I don't use my personal cell phone for work. I got back to you as soon as I was available." I would state this matter-of-factly and only expound on it if pressed to do so.

Why didn't you answer?
Were you working?
Not answering a work call on your personal phone on principle?
I'd tell her the truth, whatever it may be.

Well you can take a stand on principle that you don't answer your personal cell phone during work hours, or you can find a solution. I think that the former can be used to start the conversation and explain why you didn't answer, but the conversation needs to be solution-oriented. Find out what the preferred mode of communication is for any staff member to get in touch with you - if you're on a computer, do you have IM? Is there an intercom system where the office can buzz into your office and let you know that you received a phone call? Does the office take messages on paper? What do they do if a parent calls and wants to leave you a voice mail - is that not an option? How often does she expect to have a phone conversation with you and how many minutes of your plan will that eat up - does it even matter (we never go near our minute allotment on our plan so it's not an issue for me)?

What I can tell you is that I work in a corporate environment where I have a landline at my office, which I'm only in 2 days a week. Most of my communication is done via e-mail or IM, but my home phone and cell phone are listed in my e-mail footer and the employee directory and if someone calls, I answer.

It sounds like communication isn't something that was worked out in detail before the school opened, which I can understand being one of those areas that can be overlooked until it becomes a problem. Work with your boss to figure out an effective plan and be as flexible as possible.

The question is, what time was it and what are you required to do for your job? Does your phone have voicemail? There are plenty of people with office jobs that are not at their desk and the call goes to voicemail. The other issue is what type of phone plan do you have. Are you charged per call or if you go over a certain number of minutes?

Ask your boss what the expectation is for your phone. As long as you can call back, I don't see why they are upset. Get some guidelines.

At my husbands work he purchased/ owns the phone, but they (his work) pays for part of the service.

He gets calls from work all of the time. He answers immediately while at work, when not at work depending on what is going on, he will take the call as soon as possible. His job is classified as being on call 24 hrs a day.

He works for the Police Dept, but is a civilian.

At my stepmoms work, she was issued a cell phone they pay for the services on it. It has unlimited everything. Even over seas service.

She is allowed to use it as a personal phone, but it is first and foremost a work phone and will have to turn it in if she quits or is terminated.

It sounds like work situations vary so much. I worked at a university, and hardly any of the professors use their phones (any phone). Almost all communication is done via email, as people are always coming and going.

Sounds like the two of you need to figure out the best way to reach each other. If she really needs to be able to call you (as other options simply will not work), maybe you need to consider changing plans. It's been quite awhile since I changed cell phone plans, but if I remember correctly, most cell phone companies are more than happy to sign you up for a bigger plan at any time!

Where I work, we're not really supposed to answer our personal phones while on the clock.

Were you with a student when she called? I mean, she should have called your office phone not your cell phone. I don't know, I mean, I try to tell the truth because it's easier. If you don't have minutes, tell her you weren't answering the phone because you were out of minutes and give her other ways to easily get a hold of you. (office phone, email, etc.)

Ditto Tiffany. You don't take personal calls while working.

Exactly why I don't own a cell phone. I think my boss thinks I have one but won't give him the number. He just can't believe that someone would choose not to carry around a phone!

I would say something like "If I have to use my personal cell phone for work, then I need to be reimbursed for the minutes I use for work-related calls."

Did you not answer because you were pissed they won't pay for your phone or were you just unable to answer? If it was the former, grow up. If it was the latter, just nicely say sometimes I can't answer my phone.

I get a couple work calls a month. Why should they pay for my phone for a couple calls. That and I am an accountant so I know if I get a de minimus benefit it will actually come out of my salary. No thanks, I will take the cash and accept a few calls.