# Co-workers yapping on personal calls on their cell phones at work **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534 "2014-09-25T15:57:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/21 "2014-09-26T13:40:43Z")
I worked with a guy who spent most of the day watching YouTube videos on his Galaxy Note while he was supposed to be working. This was even during time periods when customers were in the office. He was the manager’s “weed bud”, so he got a pass. I got called on using my cell phone at lunch in the break room; I left the same day. I went back to working contract as full time jobs these days are jokes. If the employer allows the employees to use their cell phones when they should be working, they deserve whatever they get ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/22 "2014-09-26T15:34:53Z")
Some people are literally addicted to cell phones and texting. They cannot stop. I work as a cashier and I see it everyday. One woman made three calls while I checked out her order. Another young woman was literally sweating and shaking while I rang her up. She looked like an addict needing a fix. As soon as we finished, she started texting. I’ve seen young people on the bus sitting in the front seats and doing their technological thing ignore the handicapped and elderly cause they can’t take ten seconds to move to another seat. It’s absolutely disgusting. And scary. We are not allowed to have our cell phones at the register. Period. If it’s that important, you can go to the locked bathroom, get your cell and use it in the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/23 "2014-09-26T15:39:09Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Everyone has stuff that needs to be taken care of during work hours, and you shouldn’t have to make that follow up appointment with the gynecologist in front of everyone. > [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > - infinity > > Because “Hi, I’m calling about that abnormal pap smear” are not words anyone should have to say sitting in their cube at work. Then make your damn phone calls at home like everyone else has done since forever. I sure as hell don’t want to listen to your call to your doctor about why your poop is green and lumpy. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/24 "2014-09-26T15:41:56Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > It’s absolutely disgusting. And scary. Amen, sister. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/25 "2014-09-26T15:57:08Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > I worked with a guy who spent most of the day watching YouTube videos on his Galaxy Note while he was supposed to be working. This was even during time periods when customers were in the office. > > He was the manager’s “weed bud”, so he got a pass. I got called on using my cell phone at lunch in the break room; I left the same day. I went back to working contract as full time jobs these days are jokes. > > If the employer allows the employees to use their cell phones when they should be working, they deserve whatever they get You got in trouble for using your phone while you were at lunch? Why did they care? My thought is that if you’re not on the clock, and you’re not using company resources, it’s none of their business what you do on your phone. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/26 "2014-09-26T16:02:16Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Then make your damn phone calls at home like everyone else has done since forever. I sure as hell don’t want to listen to your call to your doctor about why your poop is green and lumpy. I’ve never quite gotten this. If my business is open 9 to 5, and their business is open 9 to 5, how exactly am I supposed to communicate with them if not during lunch or work hours? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/27 "2014-09-26T16:05:17Z")
Does anyone else remember the olden days before cell phones? How_ever_ did we survive without being constantly available?? 😛 My pay-as-you-go cell account expires in 2 weeks. I won’t be refilling it - I don’t need it. I love being unavailable if I choose to be. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/28 "2014-09-26T16:06:30Z")
During lunch or break time. I know it seems odd to you youngsters, but people LIVED long before the debut of cell phones. ETA: I hate, hate, hate the idea that my cell phone means I’m available 24/7. Cause I’m not. My family jokes about it: “Calling Annie means to leave a message and she’ll call you back.” Yes, I will. When I feel like talking. A friend once called me at 4:30 Sunday morning. When I called him back four hours later, he asked “What were you doing?” What the hell do you think I was doing? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/29 "2014-09-26T16:13:19Z")
This is definitely not a cell phone problem – it’s a personal call problem. In my office, people in cubicles are on their regular office phones all day long yapping about personal problems. I can remember a boss of mine years ago yelling on his office phone about medical insurance, his daughter’s tuition, and some guy who was coming to remove some trees from his yard . I have one friend I really like, but 80% of the time I walk by her desk, she’s on the phone on a personal call. There are a few people in my office who are on cell phones doing the same thing, but it really doesn’t matter whether it’s a cell or an office phone, except of course for the bathroom. I think I’ve only heard someone making a call in the bathroom once, but I did find it extremely disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/30 "2014-09-26T16:24:43Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > I’ve never quite gotten this. If my business is open 9 to 5, and their business is open 9 to 5, how exactly am I supposed to communicate with them if not during lunch or work hours? Then you step into an empty conference or work room. If your office doesn’t have one, go outside. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/31 "2014-09-26T16:49:07Z")
If they’re really loud, you join into the conversation. They’ll either quiet down or go away. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/32 "2014-09-26T17:11:50Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > … Another young woman was literally sweating and shaking while I rang her up. She looked like an addict needing a fix. As soon as we finished, she started texting… She may well have been an addict needing her fix, and was texting her supplier. > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > I have zero problem with people making personal calls in Cubeville. It’s when they leave their phones on with the ringtone volume jacked that annoys the ever-loving shit out of me. I keep my phone at my desk with the ringer off. I can still see if someone calls without annoying my co-workers. If I do pick up the personal call and it’s going to take more than a couple of sentences to complete then I go into a back room. Nobody needs to know my business. Same here. Guy who sits across from me has an annoying-ass ring tone and has a habit of wandering off from his desk to flirt with the nearby agents. When he had a Craig’s List ad to sell his car? I though I might kill him myself. > [@even\_sven](#): > > Now that open offices and cubes are the norm, offices really need to provide accessable spaces for private conversations, and ensure those spaces have cell reception. Everyone has stuff that needs to be taken care of during work hours, and you shouldn’t have to make that follow up appointment with the gynecologist in front of everyone. > > The best setups I’ve seen have had little phone booths for employees. Concur. I work in an open floor plan with hundreds of other people and there is literally nowhere to make a private call. People need to speak with their attorney or doctor during business hours? Yeah, you’re screwed: congratulations, now everyone knows your personal business. > [@SaharaTea](#): > > Then you step into an empty conference or work room. If your office doesn’t have one, go outside. … and if it’s pouring rain? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/33 "2014-09-26T18:13:13Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > If they’re really loud, you join into the conversation. They’ll either quiet down or go away. My favorite move; shuts 'em right up. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > … Same here. Guy who sits across from me has an annoying-ass ring tone and has a habit of wandering off from his desk to flirt with the nearby agents. When he had a Craig’s List ad to sell his car? I though I might kill him myself. … It’s amazing how easily a phone can be misplaced these days. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/34 "2014-09-26T18:23:14Z")
I don’t have a lot of this kind of thing going on in my workplace, but when a bunch of us eat lunch together at the lunch table, there’s this one coworker who thinks it’s not rude to make personal calls while sitting at the table where everyone else is talking to everyone else who’s sitting right there. Though maybe this coworker’s phone calls are important, I don’t really know. I don’t know what her phone calls are about because I don’t understand Portuguese. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/35 "2014-09-26T18:44:04Z")
As of today, I have a new hero. I’m at a Chinese restaurant, waiting for my take out. As I’m waiting, a lady comes in with her phone firmly stuck to her ear. She strolls up to counter and proceeds to thumb through the menu. Meanwhile, the cashier isn’t giving this lady so much as a sideways glance. Finally, the woman stops talking on her phone for two seconds and yells at the cashier: Lady: Mam, I’m ready to order now. Cashier: I not take you order while you on phone. Lady: What?! You can’t tell me to get off my own damn phone! Cashier: People always get order wrong when they talk on phone. Please put down phone and I take your order. Lady: How about if I take my business somewhere else? Cashier: [Shrugs and points towards door] ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/36 "2014-09-26T19:03:29Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > ETA: I hate, hate, hate the idea that my cell phone means I’m available 24/7. Cause I’m not. My family jokes about it: “Calling Annie means to leave a message and she’ll call you back.” Yes, I will. When I feel like talking. > > A friend once called me at 4:30 Sunday morning. When I called him back four hours later, he asked “What were you doing?” What the hell do you think I was doing? I agree with you. I feel my phone is a convenience. MY convenience. And when it’s convenient for me to answer it, I will. And if it’s an incoming phone call about a literal life and death situation, they’ll call again. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/37 "2014-09-26T19:05:49Z")
ETA: ref \*\*Shakes \*\*2 posts above … Signs saying “no business transacted while using a cell phone” are fairly common at retail establishments around here. They’re always Mom & Pop places; I’ve never seen one in a corporate or franchise setting. I hope it catches on nationwide & we do start to see corporations & national franchise operators getting into this mode as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/38 "2014-09-27T02:03:11Z")
I’m kind of a loner and didn’t like the phone even back when I had a million friends, so what’s really hard for me to understand for people who are on the phone constantly… don’t you run out of things to talk about or people to talk to? Don’t you like 10 minutes to yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/39 "2014-09-27T10:04:54Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > - infinity > > Because “Hi, I’m calling about that abnormal pap smear” are not words anyone should have to say sitting in their cube at work. I’m at a university, and we’ve got a colleague in our department who sits in her office and makes very loud, very candid phone calls to her various doctors and specialists. Everyone in the surrounding offices have taken to wearing headphones to avoid listening to her vivid discussions of her waterworks troubles; I was in the office opposite the hallway from her for a year, and I know way more about this woman’s malfunctioning bits than I ever wanted to know. She’s also been engaged in a long and drawn out legal dispute, so we get to hear about that, too. It’s like when you’re in a restaurant, and someone at the next table has such a piercing voice that it’s impossible to ignore it (Orwell called it _duckspeak_.) She usually has her door shut during these calls, but she’s got a voice like a foghorn and a nasally Mid-western accent that includes vowels that sound like marbles dropping onto a hardwood floor (and stands out a mile in an English university.) She’s also clearly audible down the hallway and through the firedoor, as well. PS Meant to add, no one can figure out why she waits to come into school to make these calls; her flat is maybe a 5 minute walk from our building. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534/40 "2014-09-27T10:15:03Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > Then you step into an empty conference or work room. If your office doesn’t have one, go outside. Well, yes, but the poster the person you were replying to was replying to was saying to make all personal phone calls at home, and not at work at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-yapping-on-personal-calls-on-their-cell-phones-at-work/699534.md?page=3)