The Problem With Using Your Work Phone for “Personal” Matters
I was the company phone guy. Here’s what I saw.
Jamie was tall, confident, intelligent, and aggressive with her career. When I stepped into the hallway, she often blazed past me, her heels clacking against the floor with purpose and finality. She had a commanding presence that you always felt when she was nearby.
She had just appeared in front of my desk, her head looming above the flimsy and submissive walls of my cubicle.
Jamie smiled, “Are you the new phone guy?” It was a term I’d get used to hearing.
“I am.”
“I need to order a new iPhone. My dog jumped on me and knocked my phone out of my hand. My screen is cracked. Here, take a look.”
I’d hear more wild excuses from employees for their broken phones in the coming months. My favorite was, “My girlfriend saw a black spider and used my phone to swat it before she realized it was just a piece of fuzz.”
I reached out to take it, and she pulled the phone back to look at the screen on more time, the control freak side of her flaring up again. She sighed as she rubbed her finger of over the crack in the screen. Then handed it back to me one jabbing motion.
