If It Rings, Must You Answer It?
There’s been a lot of discussion on this blog and elsewhere about whether it’s necessary to stay "connected" while away from work, particularly during vacations. And although I personally discovered this fall that it’s not, as long as you leave your business in the hands of a capable person who can reach you in case of an absolute emergency, it seems that more and more people feel they should be available just because the technology exists to make it possible.
On a similar subject, a friend recently sent me a link to a posting on Sync: The Tech & Gadgets Blog which raised an interesting, although somewhat disturbing, question: is it appropriate to answer one’s cell phone while using the bathroom? That is just wrong, on so many levels! Why pay for services like Voice Mail and Missed Calls Logs, and not use them at times like this? Surely there’s not one person on this earth whose business is so important that they can’t wait five minutes or so to return a call…
You mean people actually talk on the phone while they’re…you know?
Sometimes people take multi-tasking TOO FAR!
Comment by Jacki Hollywood Brown — November 22, 2007 @ 11:08 am
You are oh so right, Janet! I was on a business conference call once and one of our VP’s was actually using the bathroom on the call. The only thing that really made the call worthwhile is that we knew for certain he does wash his hands.
Comment by Suzanne — November 24, 2007 @ 12:03 pm
I used to work in an office where they had phones in washrooms (before cell phone days) and I never could figure out why. Maybe for privacy on a call?
Comment by Moreen Torpy — December 18, 2007 @ 11:07 am