More bosses want mobile phones banned in Australian workplaces

As the nation continues to debate the merit of a national ban on mobile phones at school, more employers are pushing to ban mobiles during work hours. VOTE, HAVE YOUR SAY

School mobile phone bans may not go far enough, with some employers saying personal devices should also be banned at work.

Society’s obsession with social media and constant connection is causing distraction, safety issues and wasted time among employees — and employers have had enough.

While many retailers, such as supermarkets, have long restricted personal phones on the shop floor, formal phone policies are creeping into more sectors.

Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce president Nathan Schokker said more than half of business owners he dealt with were taking action to tackle the issue.

“Definitely in the last 12 months it’s something that gets spoken about more and more,” he said.

Brisbane Junior Chamber of Commerce president Nathan Schokker, who also runs his own business, introduced a policy for his staff strictly banning phone use during certain tasks.

“I’d say 50 per cent are taking action, whether that’s talking to their team or creating a policy and trying to be on the front foot.

“Most people try to take a ‘softly softly’ approach and raise it with their teams and say ‘let’s cut down phone use’, then it just progressively increases in severity so memos go around the business saying ‘we are going to start policing this’, then they have no place to go but to create a policy so it’s official and there is no excuse.”

Mr Schokker, also director of property services and maintenance business Talio, introduced a policy for his 25-plus staff strictly banning phone use during certain tasks and strongly discouraging use for all other work time.

In his case, it was mainly about safety, but for most it was about wasted time.

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Society’s obsession with social media and constant connection is causing distraction, safety issues and wasted time among employees, and employers have had enough. Picture: Supplied

He said the productivity issue was common across all sectors, from service work to white collar professions.

“People don’t realise how long they can spend on their phone on social media or playing a game or texting people,” he said.

“You can quickly lose half an hour or an hour in a day and if you add that up over a year that could be hundreds of hours that disappear with no work being done.

“(Previously) it was something we were seeing with younger generations that had grown up with this, but more and more we see it across the board.”

Dr Amantha Imber, founder of at innovation consultancy Inventium, said there was a clear trend toward people struggling to focus at work.

Her Workday Reinvention Program, designed to help solve this issue, was launched only a month ago and had already been “inundated with interest”.

“On average, people can focus for six minutes before they give into some digital distraction,” she said.

“Notifications appearing on your phone is enough to decrease IQ by 10 points, which is the equivalent of missing a night’s sleep.

“Social media is designed to be addictive — there are people whose job it is to keep people using the app for as long as possible.”

Dr Amantha Imber said there was a clear trend toward people struggling to focus at work. Picture: Supplied

Dr Imber said giving workers the willpower to put away their phone would be more effective than a blanket phone ban, which felt like “organisations treating people like children”.

Australian HR Institute chairman Peter Wilson agreed a blanket ban was not feasible.

He said workers should be able to use mobile phones, as long as they fulfilled their obligation of doing a “reasonable day’s work”.

“Usually, employers know what is going on so have some way of monitoring usage,” he said.

“People are provided flexibility with a call here and there for personal reasons but if they are used heavily and it impedes the work, you get more direct intervention.”

Nicole Gorton, director of recruitment firm Robert Half Australia, said rather than blanket bans, employers generally allowed phones in the workplace but limited personal usage.

Alternatively, they supplied professional phones to use during work hours or supplied lockers to store personal belongings, including phones.

Business owner Clare Sheng has a policy where she and her 13 employees at The Fitting Room on Edward can only answer their phone in an emergency and only browse during lunch breaks. Picture: AAP/David Clark

Business director Clare Sheng introduced a phone ban at her alterations store earlier this year and believes more businesses should do the same.

She and her 13 employees at The Fitting Room on Edward can only answer their phone in an emergency and only browse during lunch breaks.

“There has been a general shift in phone usage — it’s always right next to somebody,” she said.

“When a message or notification pops up, it’s hard to keep your eyes away.”

Ms Sheng, 36, said phone use had been a bigger issue among younger workers, but admitted she also found it difficult to switch off.

“Even I am becoming more addicted to my phone,” she said.

“I have to clear my notifications, I can’t have them sitting there.

“We have one big room so we can see what everybody is doing and if they are not sewing and are looking at their phone we can tell straight away. We have managers who keep an eye on that.”

She said more businesses should crack down on phone usage at work and put policies into writing.

“You need very clear boundaries,” she said.

“I am meeting a lot of other business owners who complain about it.

“I have heard it has become one of the standard policies HR introduces to the people they work with — it is in all the templates.

“It’s definitely a big issue.”

Originally published as More bosses want mobile phones banned in Australian workplaces