DescentBB

So, my job is to call prospective students for our school. One of my bosses (who happens to be younger than me) has this power trip thing where he yells at you if he can tell that you're not working for more than about 30 seconds. It's not like I'm slacking- I regularly make make above average numbers of calls. Sometimes it's distracting others, and I can understand that, but if I'm talking on my cell phone for 5 minutes, I don't think it should be an issue. What do you guys think?

I think breaks are for personal calls.
I'm a supervisor at a CNC shop and we frown on people using work time for personal use unless its an emergency of coarse.

I guess it's a philosophy thing. I would rather not run such a tight ship, and not have my supervisors either. I'm not super uptight about the clock, though I make sure I get there early always. I'll start a little early, work a little late- it isn't an issue to me. I think production is the issue. So, I work hard, and a little more efficiently than some of the other people around there- I think that as long as my production isn't hurt, there shouldn't be an issue.

It's a 2 hour shift, so there's no such thing as a break. I don't do it all the time- it's been maybe 3 times that I've had a personal phone call that I've taken in the last three months, and all of them under 10 minutes, none of them affecting the number of calls that I made that shift. I think mostly I don't like the fact that I feel like I'm being treated like a child. I'm doing my job fine, so why do they feel like they have to micromanage what I'm doing all the time? (My internship spoiled me, I saw what it was like to be treated like a professional, not another body.)

Either way, I probably won't take personal calls anymore- I just wish it wasn't an issue.

snoopy wrote:What do you guys think?

you are payed for your productivity and what you bring to the company. if your style of work brings more productivity - it shouldn't be seen as a problem.
this is pretty obvious management theory right?

havn't you done something obvious about it? like talk to him about it, take it to his supervisor, or abuse him?

You're also paid to abide by the rules, and if the rules say no personal calls, then no personal calls.

Anal, yes, but it's your boss's perogative to see things that way. If I thought you were a hard worker, I wouldn't have much of a problem with you making/taking personal calls, but if your personal calls started to interfere with others' productivity then yes I would.

It sounds like your job does not entail meeting people face to face. If it did I would expect you to behave much more professionally than if you were simply the "voice", not the "face".

Just dump a bottle of motor oil in his car.

i had the impression that you've had this job for a while, doing what you are doing, and your boss is new. is this accurate?

Perhaps if you had asked if you could take a quick five-minute break, you wouldn't have had this problem in the first place.

I'm often in a supervising position at a grocery store. I'm uptight because I'm almost a babysitter for kids who want to buy cars so they can drag race. But if someone is a hardworker and needs to take a break, and their schedule allows for it, I'll give it to them. If they take a break without letting me know, that's when I get angry.

Sage wrote:Just dump a bottle of motor oil in his car.

Sage bro, that anger is coming out again. Get help bud ...

roid wrote:i had the impression that you've had this job for a while, doing what you are doing, and your boss is new. is this accurate?

Yeah, I didn't do it for a year, and he started during that time.

As for talking to him, I really don't think it will help. It would pretty much amount to asking him not to be so anal about me bending the rules. DCrazy has it about right, I just need to vent.

In my opinion just about any company has a strict rule about personal phone calls especially on cell phones. I wouldnâ??t take it personally only because it sounds theyâ??ve had this problem before with other people.

I totally agree that you should not use company time for personal use. You agreed to do a job under certain terms - abide by them. But I also agree he should not yell. To cause someone public embaressment in that fashion is way out of line, weather they are right or wrong there is a certain professionalism expected from managment. He has other ways or means to do his job, such as write you up or speak to his boss about you.

snoopy wrote:What do you guys think?

He's inexperienced and making bad mistakes. Hope he learns from it.