Boss expecting me to answer her messages while driving!

[Drummend01]

This week I’ve been all over the country representing our company at an event. Approved by my boss, out of office is on, I’ve told everyone I won’t be easily contactable etc (I’m usually very efficient).

Yesterday I was driving home from Manchester (3 hours), boss messaged me about 4:30pm on Microsoft teams on my work phone “can you call me please”, I didn’t see it as I was driving, then another at 5ish “important”. I saw the messages when I pulled into services about 6pm and replied to her on teams (we finish working at 5) saying “sorry I was driving, is it something to discuss now or shall I call you in the morning?”. I didn’t get a reply.

This morning she video called me saying how I need to be contactable in work hours, how she’d waited until I was finished at the event to message me. I explained that had she called me then I would have heard the ring and picked up on hands free, but I wasn’t checking my phone for messages while I was driving (with it being illegal and everything!). She said “I didn’t call you because i knew you were driving, as a manager that wouldn’t be very professional”.

I’m so confused, I’ve built a good reputation with her and this company, I got promoted in November and have been working really hard. I was up at 5:30, spent 6 hours in the car yesterday, worked way more hours than I am paid for so far this week and she’s annoyed because it took me 1.5 hours to answer her messages while I was driving. If it was that important and she knew I was driving then shouldn’t she have called me?! AIBU?

Oh I know - if you need to be contactable at any time then she needs to supply you with a chauffeur driven car!! That way you can stare at your phone the entire trip.

No she’s well aware I was travelling on company time, it’s standard practice when you’re attending work events far from home

She’s completely unreasonable.

I would reply and ask her what she would have liked you to have done differently.

We don’t get the hours back exactly no, but they give us a day back here or there in lieu. We are paid well at our company and expected you to be willing to travel (which I’m happy to do, just not illegally).

OP doesn't matter what the policy says, your employer can't ask you to do something illegal.

Raise it at your next meeting - either clarify what she was asking or just make a statement that you will not answer text messages etc whilst driving. And ask her if she is formally stating she wants you to break the law in which case can you have that in writing

As an FYI at my company - even if you are using hands free and driving "legally" so to speak - if you have a crash and die whilst taking a call during works time then the death in service payment won't be made

I refuse to take work calls whilst driving for this reason. Unless stood in stationary traffic in a huge traffic jam

@hanschristmassolo oh wow I will definitely check our policies to see if my company has something similar!

Send her a polite follow up email, asking her to clarify how she wants you to be able to read her messages and drive home as per what she said in the video call. My old boss tried a few tricks on the phone but when it was written down she did some very fast reverse ferrets…

She said “I didn’t call you because i knew you were driving, as a manager that wouldn’t be very professional”.

I'm laughing so much at this I'm not sure I'd be able to resist a withering response, even to my boss...

Your boss realises she's been an eejit. Any manager that uses the phrase "as a manager" is climbing down.

I'd leave it.

Hands free is against my company policy. You have to pull over to take a call.

She's being ridiculous.

She's deranged.
But. Don't reply to messages when your working day is done.

My company policy is not to answer calls while driving, not even hands free

Boss quite happy that you endanger your life and those of others. Perhaps company should pay for train fares in future.

My car does have this feature but I refuse to use it. You are more distracted than you think even when using this feature.

My employer's guidance says: "[...] actively discourages the use of hands-free mobile phones when driving and recommends that you switch off your mobile phone when in control of a vehicle. [...] expects you not to make or receive business calls when driving and encourages you to make full use of voice messaging services. You should ensure you pull over and park safely to make calls and return messages [...]"

I would say anything short of this is not best practice.

Thus nearly doubling OP's total travel time? Bonkers idea.

This.

My employer forbids staff from answering calls when driving, even hands free, because there's evidence that it increases accident risk.

Sounds to me like she hadn't thought it through, realised her error, then tried to bluster her way out of it. I wouldn't think about it too much unless it becomes a pattern.

Are you the op's boss??
I have a newish car and have never done this because when l am driving, that takes up my concentration funnily enough!

Your boss is ridiculous @Drummend01

youve told her you were driving and you’re not going to answer calls or texts when in the car so if she emails or messages you, you can pick it up when you’re able to.

stop working stupid hours. This idiotic prick of a manager won’t reward you for it, just do the job you’re paid to do.

I don’t even agree with the people that say you should start any communication about this with ‘sorry’! Sorry for what? Not picking up your phone to text while simultaneously driving down the motorway or high street?! She should be glad that one of her staff isn’t such a fucking idiot that they are on their phone doing that. Instead, she’s demanding to know why. Because she’s batshit.

Some local authorities still have a road safety manager or team, perhaps let them know and ask for advice.

I agree with @BrightGreenMoonBuggy that sorry is inappropriate.

Hands free is as bad as drunk driving. I stopped it and set my phone to divert when driving.

She's completely unreasonable. However, she's your boss, so I'd tread carefully. Why not suggest to her that in future, you call just before you leave and check in case she needs to speak to you, and tell her when you'll be arriving and if you are breaking your journey anywhere? It's a hassle but at least you'll be showing willing. Not that you should have to but still.

I'm heartened to see how many companies don't even want people to use hands-free.

And agree that no discussion about this should start with "sorry" or convey any apologetic tone.

What might be useful is a discussion at some point, quite casually, about what "urgent" is in terms of work. For me it went something like "is someone about to die? am I about to die? no? then it isn't urgent". And also a conversation (which was easier for me because our office communications were in English which was a 2nd language to everyone apart from me and i did give occasional Business English lessons) about how to word messages that really ought to be answered asap, immediately, at the next opportunity, etc.