[OPLINLIST] results of survey concerning employees and cell phones

[Sherie Brown]

Hi Oplinlisters.  I've had several requests to post the responses from my question concerning written policies about staff use of cell phones and texting while at work.  
 
I can certainly see that we're all struggling with the same issues, but for the most part we are dealing with it informally.  Just one library, Shaker Heights,  responded with a written policy that specifically included personal cell phones:
 

"Excessive personal use of the library telephones and fax machines is discouraged.  Use is limited to emergency situations and those calls approved by the employee's supervisor. Personal calls, whether on library telephones or personal mobile phones, should be limited to non-work time and in non-public areas. The same guidelines apply to text messaging on personal mobile phones. Personal toll calls on library telephones are prohibited.  Excessive use of telephones for personal use or charging personal toll calls to the library will result in disciplinary action." 

 

Several other libraries say they are working on revising their staff policies to include personal cell phones, but at this point consider it to be an extension of their policies regarding personal calls in general.   Rocky River suggest naming that section of your training "Personal Communication" which would encompass all present (and future?) forms.  One director said that "polite reminders" are getting nowhere with a young staff member "attached to his phone."

 

I had several more responses from managers who have a policy about cell phone usage for their own department specifically.  The trend is to require staff not to carry them to the public service area at all, with exceptions made for emergency situations (waiting for car repair, family member in hospital, etc.) and at those times the phone must be on vibrate.

 

An interesting point made by more than one library...the "tolerance" for personal cell phone usage is directly proportional to the library director's own usage of his/her phone.  As one staff member told me, "*his* phone is never on vibrate!"    There was also a strong feeling that because we're all so understaffed, staff members sometime can't even leave their desk and when your own children call, "you have to do what you have to do." (my paraphrase.)

 

Marietta library pointed out that they often communicate by texting for work-related reasons, which is interesting.  They pointed out that if you must have a policy, you should include a rule about keeping them on vibrate, and to put the phone down/away if a patron approaches.  (In a specific case at our library, a page was actually texting as another staff member was giving them instruction, so we'll need to broaden that rule!)

 

Thanks to everyone for their responses.

 
Sherie Brown
Head of Reference Services
brownsh at massillonlibrary.org           Massillon Public Library
208 Lincoln Way E.
Massillon OH 44646
 
Phone 330.832.9831
Fax 330.830.2182
 
  
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