Just blowing off some steam and was wondering if anybody else’s workplaces have any pointless, unnecessary, obtrusive or even malicious rules in place that despite their severity absolutely nobody pays attention to? You know, those rules that the management has an important meeting about and how they’re implementing them immediately the next day everybody forgets that meeting took place? Rules that make you wonder if they’re still even being enforced despite the fact there’s signs all over the building proclaiming them?
I work at an office-type environment and management decided to crack down on people using their cell phones in the most harsh way possible despite the fact it’s just a normal office. Angry at seeing people texting at their desks they made a rule that ALL cell phones are banned from the ENTIRE building. You can’t even keep them in your desk drawer or locker. You’re suppose to leave your phone in your vehicle and are only allowed to access it during your lunch time when you’re outside the building. In addition if you have to have a cell phone on you in case of an emergency you’re suppose to request (in official writing) the option of having the cell phone on your person but fill out multiple details including reasoning, the time frame you believe you will receive the call, and for how long the call takes place.
Of course absolutely nobody follows it and I still see people just openly texting at their desks despite having THREE half-hour long meetings about it. Considering this is the same job where somebody requested to leave early to pick up their kid from school due to an injury and their request was denied, I highly doubt anybody has ever submitted a formal request to use a cell phone.
Holy crap, wtf kind of hell hole do you work in? Satan’s Anus and Sundries Emporium sounds better.
Where I work, there are all sorts of rules everybody ignores. Don’t smoke in the trucks, sweep out the back and refuel before parking for the day, no beverages in the warehouse, things like that. The only diligently observed rule about phones is “no phone use while driving” mostly because it gives people an excuse to ignore calls from the office.
Nobody in my office wears their name badges unless they are going to the other floor and need them to unlock doors.
It is supposed to be for security, but my office is small enough that strangers would be noticed (I work for a ~100k employee company but about 150 work in my office)
My son’s employer has even stricter rules regarding cellphones. No cellphones ever, zero tolerance, possession of a phone could result in arrest. He works in a prison.
When my mom was alive, she had an emergency button for a service that would call my cellphone if she pushed it. I carried the phone at all times, and yes, had a few calls I left work to attend to. Mostly for falls. Thank god, she was never badly hurt.
I’m pretty sure the OP’s office rule banning cellphones would not stand up to a legal challenge in a case like mine.
Arbitrary rules? Other than no jeans on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays, not really. It’s fairly laid back where I work.
I think an employee who sued an employer for firing, or otherwise disciplining him or her for carrying a cellphone to take emergency button phone calls from his or her elderly infirm relative would be looked on favorably by the courts. If not, the local television news would probably be interested in the story.
New project. Consultants still joining. Conversation with one yesterday:
He: don’t get impatient, it took me four weeks to get my badge.
Me: oh, I’ve got mine. Could be worse, it once took me four weeks to get my computer, and bringing any books or computers in was banned. Once we got our company laptops we were required to take them home every day but not allowed to work from home.
He: ah, I see you’ve also worked in Pharma!
Several times and with different excuses I’ve been in companies where the tools provided to IT subcontractors were simply inadequate. This usually meets and violently melds with that other policy saying you’re supposed to only use company-provided computers. Our current IT guy studiously investigates the corners of the ceiling any time someone opens a computer which is not the same brand as those he prepares.
We don’t bother wearing our name badges much. We also let people into the building through the keypad doors if they look like they belong here. This building is small enough that we all pretty much know each other, if not actually by name.
We also aren’t supposed to plug anything in to the electrical sockets unless it’s necessary/approved, but some people have fans or personal coffeemakers or Christmas lights or whatever.
I walk through the lab wearing open-toe shoes.
Same thing. We’re supposed to wear our ID badges around our neck at all times for security reasons, being supposedly a sensitive potential terrorist target. There are placards reminding us to do this, especially at the entrance. I can’t remember the last time I saw someone actually doing it.
There are some security rules that are annoyingly followed, though. The reception desk doesn’t keep anything, not even a mere envelope, for instance. If a mail is delivered, you have to immediately come to pick it up yourself. If you’re for instance absent or can’t be contacted, it is refused.
We aren’t supposed to have fans. But I have one, as does just about every woman over a certain age.
I think BS rules like this are instituted to make it easier to fire certain people. Like, they aren’t going to fire everyone who has a fan, just the unpopular people.
This made me remember the company I used to work for that bought phone headsets for all the managers and customer service folks but nobody else. They acted like they were made of solid gold and priced accordingly. So all the managers who rarely used the phone had them, but the business analysts who were constantly on conference calls with clients had to get neck cramps holding handsets between ear and shoulder.
About 15 years ago I worked PT for the USPS at an encoding center (besides working my FT job). They had some odd rules. The one I remember most was no one was allowed to wear shoes without backs - like clogs or sandals. Now this job consisted of sitting in front of a computer screen and doing data entry. That’s it. I think the safety movie we watched sited the reason was if there were to be an emergency and we had to run out of the building, backless shoes would be hazardous! Because I would be coming from my other job where I have no rules, I had to keep a pair of proper footwear in my car. I saw a few people being sent home for that infraction. Also, we weren’t allowed to go any further than the sidewalk in front of the building during breaks. That meant we couldn’t go to our cars either, which were parked in a lot right outside of the building. If you had to retrieve something from your car, you had to get permission to do so.
Oh, we have a ton of rules and policies that are routinely ignored, including safety rules. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people standing on the top of stepladders just waiting to fall over and break their heads. To be sure, there is a 20 page “House Rules” document that we give to everyone, but I’m sure it gets filed away and never read.
One of the most asinine rules has to do with equipment deliveries to the data center. The “official” policy is that equipment must be installed within 5 business days or the customer will be charged $250/day for storage. Every time a customer gets a delivery, they are sent a notice with the boilerplate warning about storage fees.
When the policy was first instituted, we asked the boss about enforcement, noting that $250/day was pretty steep and anyone getting charged would likely be extremely pissed off. Especially considering some customers pay tens of thousands of dollars a month for hosting. The boss told us that we should “use discretion” before charging anyone for storage.
That was 13 years ago…nobody has ever been charged a penny for storage, even the customers who have had stuff on a shelf for over a year.
I’ve been involved (after the fact) in several workplace violence incidents and some significant business asset thefts that happened solely because unauthorized personnel were let into a secured building. In a couple of them, an ex-employee returned after being terminated (and giving up his/her access badge) in order to assault the person who terminated him/her.
We have the “don’t use the top 3 steps of the ladder” rule. We have some ladders that are only 3 steps, so I don’t know how we are supposed to use them. We also have products on shelves at least 12 feet off the floor, and employees can’t reach it unless they are on the top step of the ladder.