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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Manager only communicate via WhatsApp

56 replies

user97788678 · 02/06/2021 17:51

I started in a new job recently in retail. All the staff seem friendly, invited me to join a WhatsApp group that they have which I declined as I don't tend to add colleagues to social media and don't want everyone at work knowing my phone number.
So it appears that everything work related is communicated in this group, the manager praising staff for good customer feedback and anything else that has gone well on that day. I find it odd that the manager can't communicate this during work hours.
AIBU to not join the WhatsApp group?

OP posts:
newnortherner111 · 02/06/2021 18:58

I think your wish should be respected and perhaps your manager do this thing called talking. You could have very good reasons for wanting your phone number to remain private, perhaps relating to a bad experience in the past that is none of our or your employer's business.

When it was suggested at work I refused to be any part and fortunately it was not taken any further.

LavendulaAngustifolia · 02/06/2021 19:01

Whatsapp is secure? It's owned by Facebook.

BelleBlueBell · 02/06/2021 19:09

@AppleKatie

What do you imagine people at work would do with your number that you are unhappy with?

In the vanishingly unlikely situation that someone messages you inappropriately or whatever you can block their numbers easily enough and still be part of the main WhatsApp group.

It doesn't matter what they might or might not do with the number everyone is absolutely entitled to not have their number shared to all and sundry if they choose not to.

For me that's something that whatsapp need to think about, a way to be in the group but without anyone being able to see your number

IEat · 02/06/2021 19:15

I don’t work weekends but have had group WhatsApp messages that I refuse to reply to until 8am on Monday . Likewise messages that need a reply after 5pm can sod off too

Soontobe60 · 02/06/2021 19:20

@JellyTumble

If an employer is insisting

@Soontobe60 They’re not insisting.

I didn’t say “this” employer, I said “an” employer.
user1471528245 · 02/06/2021 19:26

This is incorrect, whilst end to end communication is encrypted, messages are stored locally on the device and can be accessed if the phone is lost stolen or hacked, just to note I was very drunk one night and sent a dodgy message to what I thought was a friends group, turned out to be the work group, that didn’t go down well so I have always avoided all work related groups since

Ladylimpet · 02/06/2021 19:38

Yep. Owned by Facebook. Piss funny if you think everything is secure.

Jangle33 · 02/06/2021 20:06

I’d just get a very cheap phone for work stuff like this if I was bothered by this, which I’m not...

If there wasn’t a global pandemic with retail not being massively hit by a recession then perhaps not joining in might be an option but honestly do you really need a job? I’d be keeping my head down and grateful for the role!

JackieTheFart · 02/06/2021 20:09

YANBU. I joined one against my better judgement and I fucking hate it. It’s muted now, I can’t bear all the jolly hockey sticks shite - I don’t know these people, they aren’t my friends and I don’t want them to be friends.

lap90 · 02/06/2021 20:27

Pretty common these days among those I know. Pretty common to mute it too :-)

Of course it's up to you whether or not you wish to join. Although as a new member of staff, you might find you're missing out on communication which seems to be the case.

AdventureIsWaiting · 02/06/2021 20:45

I'm surprised so many people think this is okay. I had a male member of staff use this to obtain a female colleague's personal number and slowly - over months - start to harrass and stalk her. It only came to light when he left and she changed her number. She was very young (19), with little work experience and didn't feel like / understand that she could complain and that he would be dealt with (he was 20 years older and worked there nearly as long).

I don't think you should be forced to give your personal number to anyone. If work want you on the group they need to give you a work mobile.

GorgeousLadyofWrestling · 02/06/2021 20:51

We use Slack, and my last two employees also used Slack. Effectively like WhatsApp but completely secure. Lots of different channels for updates or specific business units. We use it so much we rarely use email these days. But these are tech start ups so maybe it’s just more common.

Having said that, my last corporate role had a Messenger style comms tool which is basically the same.

If they’re using WhatsApp, it would probably be better to move to slack for security.

Whether you should join in or not - to be honest it’s the way of the world now and not going to change, I don’t think.

GorgeousLadyofWrestling · 02/06/2021 20:51

*employers - not employees!

lceniWarrior · 02/06/2021 20:56

It's really bad to use for work data. Assuming it isn't licenced or contracted for that use. Any company doing this has lost control of any data as soon as they type it into WhatsApp. People can forward on comments etc, screen shot, loose their phones which arnt protected, all without being picked up by data loss prevention tools etc.

I'm addition, your number is available for someone to use out of hours. Have an emergency? You are the person that can fix it? You could get called.

Ginuwine · 02/06/2021 20:58

@KrisAkabusi

How does it discriminate against part-timers any more than email does?

Because you have WhatsApp "open" on your phone to communicate with others. Many people have notifications from it flying up on their screen. You can "mute" and unmute groups, but it's intrusive and demands a lot of attention to keep following the threads each day.

Email doesn't have to be pushed to your phone. It's something you can come back into easily, and each communication should (in theory!) be tailored to you. You don't have to swim through loads of messages for others, on your days off, to find what's in there as an action for you.

The fact that some managers don't realise this is terrifying - it's this "always on" culture that's so bad for workers.

Ginuwine · 02/06/2021 21:00

@lceniWarrior

It's really bad to use for work data. Assuming it isn't licenced or contracted for that use. Any company doing this has lost control of any data as soon as they type it into WhatsApp. People can forward on comments etc, screen shot, loose their phones which arnt protected, all without being picked up by data loss prevention tools etc.

I'm addition, your number is available for someone to use out of hours. Have an emergency? You are the person that can fix it? You could get called.

Totally agree with the first part. It's a data and knowledge management nightmare but people go "ooh look convenience, I can have all my chats in one app" so they just do it.

Plus like I said earlier everyone knows that chatty manager that instead of filtering their thoughts and communicating at clear intervals, just does a brain dump and hopes the "actions" are clear somehow from it all.

3Britnee · 02/06/2021 21:09

@user97788678

I started in a new job recently in retail. All the staff seem friendly, invited me to join a WhatsApp group that they have which I declined as I don't tend to add colleagues to social media and don't want everyone at work knowing my phone number. So it appears that everything work related is communicated in this group, the manager praising staff for good customer feedback and anything else that has gone well on that day. I find it odd that the manager can't communicate this during work hours. AIBU to not join the WhatsApp group?
WhatsApp isnt social media.
Flowers500 · 02/06/2021 22:11

I think people are missing the fact that this is a RETAIL job. In which case slack/teams/email are no appropriate and employees won’t use them. So it’s WhatsApp or text.

I worked retail jobs and had this exact setup, I’d roll my eyes at this being an issue.

melj1213 · 02/06/2021 23:15

I work in a supermarket, pretty much everyone in my department (Customer Service and Checkouts) is in our WhatsApp group. I am also the union rep so everyone has my phone number and it is freely available to anyone as it is on my noticeboard - the worst they can do is try to contact me maliciously, in which case I can just block their number and report them to HR (and I don't get calls/messages at unsocial hours as I have my phone settings set to Do Not Disturb overnight etc)

We don't use our group for official work stuff, we use it to give each other a heads up about things (eg don't forget it's non uniform/wear football shirts/Xmas Jumpers start this weekend etc) or to ask for shift cover/swaps (opening shift might not see closing shift people but they would be happy to do a bit of overtime as a one off) or to announce a night out and all sorts of other informal chit chat.

Our department manager is not in the group but our supervisors are and they will sometimes pass on group information ("Yay, we passed the regional manager inspection", "Don't forget it's stocktake this week!") but it is in an unofficial capacity and everything is always officially briefed out in store at handovers.

Ginuwine · 02/06/2021 23:27

@melj1213

I work in a supermarket, pretty much everyone in my department (Customer Service and Checkouts) is in our WhatsApp group. I am also the union rep so everyone has my phone number and it is freely available to anyone as it is on my noticeboard - the worst they can do is try to contact me maliciously, in which case I can just block their number and report them to HR (and I don't get calls/messages at unsocial hours as I have my phone settings set to Do Not Disturb overnight etc)

We don't use our group for official work stuff, we use it to give each other a heads up about things (eg don't forget it's non uniform/wear football shirts/Xmas Jumpers start this weekend etc) or to ask for shift cover/swaps (opening shift might not see closing shift people but they would be happy to do a bit of overtime as a one off) or to announce a night out and all sorts of other informal chit chat.

Our department manager is not in the group but our supervisors are and they will sometimes pass on group information ("Yay, we passed the regional manager inspection", "Don't forget it's stocktake this week!") but it is in an unofficial capacity and everything is always officially briefed out in store at handovers.

But the key here is you said "We don't use our group for official work stuff" - that's why I think your WhatsApp group is successful. People feel like they can get into the channel if they need support, but the official stuff is still done in the right places.

It's when WhatsApp is used for crucial project critical comms that I take grave issue - when lazy managers start firing off two line missives that get buried in 100 chat messages a day, and then take umbrage if someone didn't see "the update" or question that day, due to having to spot it in a forest of trivia.

WaterOffADucksCrack · 02/06/2021 23:51

Which is fine if you're full-time and working on events, hospitality etc. But what about people who work part-time? Surely it would be worse for full timers who don't have time to be checking their whatsapp all day.

I'm a manager and whatsapp groups are encouraged in my sector. However I haven't and wouldn't do this because I find email (where you have proper proof) better. Also, I know how it wears people down mentally as I can't even have one days annual leave without at least a couple of people messaging and/or phoning.

NoMoreHGTVPlease · 03/06/2021 00:15

I work in a national retail chain. The entire company is basically run via whatsapp. There is certain information that is sent to a group chat twice a day then this is then sent to another group chat, which is then passed onto a third chat I think. All with a different set of people, or levels of people. We also have a store chat. The non management people dont need to have it per say, although most do, but the daily information is not sent any other way each day to the group chat so managers must have it,although we use personal phones. It is also useful for passing on information quickly about shop lifting gangs being in the area for example, or the big bosses doing surprise visits. For store, as opposed to area or national stuff, information is passed on in person or via notices as well. People are asked if they want to join and it is entirely their choice. (Non management) We also have endless teams meetings!

melj1213 · 03/06/2021 00:24

It's when WhatsApp is used for crucial project critical comms that I take grave issue - when lazy managers start firing off two line missives that get buried in 100 chat messages a day,

The thing is, in retail this isn't really an issue - we don't tend to have projects and deadlines and client negotiations, so WhatsApp is literally for communicating as a group.

In an office you can have a chit chat when you make coffee or wander over to someone's desk throughout the day but in a supermarket, especially in my department, you can't always get chance to speak to people if they are on a checkout at the other end of the checkout lane to you, or if you're stuck behind the cig kiosk/Customer Service desk, then you can't just go and chat to the checkout operators whenever you feel like it, so the WhatsApp is a way to keep everyone in communication as a group.

The OP doesn't say that her manager only uses WhatsApp, but if 99% of the staff is in the group then it is easy to forget that the OP doesn't know something - I can almost guarantee that the information will be available in their store somewhere, it might just not be actively pointed out, especially if most people already know.

Comefromaway · 03/06/2021 00:39

My workplace use it but work phones are provided.

I’m not on it as my phone is private.