A word about people without cellphones

If you don't want to have one, for whatever reason, that's fine. And if you also don't want to have an answering machine or voicemail or some equivalent--for whatever reason--that's fine too.

However...


When your job requires you to be on the road daily and available for communication during that time, don't tout your cellphone-less, voicemail-less existence as if it were some great transcendalist virtue in this cold age of technology.

Part of your job is to be reachable, god damn it! So get a phone, get voicemail, or get a different god damn job!


:rant:

Otherwise they're just cheapskates.

A car is also required for the work, but the employer doesn't need to furnish a vehicle.

Access to these devices is a job requirement. And anyway, the more annoying thing is that the hypothetical person in question acts like her cellphone-lessness is a laudable virtue, when in fact it's a major pain in the ass for all of her coworkers.

Hypothetically.

but if a car is required for work, I hope the employer is reimbursing for mileage. One way or the other when an employer requires employees to have certain devices, cars included, the employer is a cheapskate if they aren't either furnishing said devices or reimbursing employees for use of their personal equipment. It's a sign of the times that so many employers get away with not paying for it either way.

Of course if it's a nonprofit for a noble cause and all of the employees have agreed to work for less than they could earn else because they don't mind contributing to the common goal, that's different.

PITA coworker should develop more awareness though.


eta: it's amazing what working as a self-employed person did to my perspective on this. I had clients who wouldn't subsidize their employees' use of personal equipment but they didn't bat an eye at my detailed price list for my reimbursements.

In fact, they do reimburse for mileage, and they do reimburse for cell charges incurred in the course of the work, except that they don't reimburse for the use of free minutes. I should have indicated this in my OP.

Yeah, that's the real sticking point. She adopts this high-and-mighty "I'm living off the grid" attitude when in reality the rest of us are sitting there unable to start our daily meetings until she shows up, or until we learn that she's not actually showing up that day. If only we had some way to contact her across the great beyond! :evilgrin:

But I understand her, I hate being perpetually available and being open to badgering at the whim of anyone anywhere in the world with my number. I suppose as long as these things exist they'll become necessary in certain jobs since they do have their uses and most people are fine with them but, eh, I can't blame her really for avoiding having one.

Basic cellphones are cheap, if she wanted one she could get one, and just recieve calls. So could the company, though.

she'll soon either get a phone or get fired.

I agree. :thumbsup:

'Course you may need a rather large spool of string... :rofl: