Colleague reported me for phone usage - awkward!!

[AmyRuby]

I work in a fairly large office and there’s a very much ‘common sense’ approach to personal phone usage. No one sits at their desk and takes lengthy personal calls, but management accept there will be times people need to check/use their phones briefly and that for anything longer, they’ll step away from their desk or wait for breaks and lunch.

I had my 1:1 with my Manager today who told me that someone has reported to her that I’ve conversed with delivery drivers using my ring doorbell whilst at my desk - I simply say ‘please leave that round the side’ if no one’s in. I try to schedule deliveries for my WFH days but can’t always control that so it’s only a handful of
times this has happened.

My manager was clear she doesn’t have an issue with my phone usage and obviously she can’t tell me who reported it, although I have an idea.

This person will have known our manager will have had to say something to me - am I wrong to find them reporting this a bit pathetic? It just risks an awkward atmosphere when we are generally a fairly harmonious team.

Well clearly you’ve got a colleague who has a gripe against you. Don’t expend any energy trying to guess who it is
So long as your manager is ok with moderate use it’s fine

But why did the manager have to say something? If that was me about an employee I’d have internally rolled my eyes and not bothered raising it.

I think if it’s clear that your manager doesn’t have an issue, she should not be discussing it with you at all. She should have put an end to it.

It’s like if someone had reported you for having two thumbs or for being called Jane. It’s not relevant so the manager should have made that clear to the reportee.

I'm not sure why your manager had to say anything about that. If someone reported one of my team for a non-issue, I'd probably just tell them it was a non-issue and leave it at that.

Managers do sometimes say that "someone" reported something when actually it's them that have an issue with it. So I'd be a bit careful if this could be a possibility.

Your usage must be fairly high for somebody to notice.

I think your manager sees this as more of an issue than you do, or else they wouldn't have mentioned it and shut it down when the complaint was made.

Your manager did not have to bring that up if she sees no issue.

It's bad management and very gutless. If she does have an issue with it, she should've talked to you about it. If she doesn't, she should've told the colleague (perhaps in more professional terms) to keep their beak out.

I imagine that your boss does have an issue with it or why would it be mentioned in your one to one?

Blimey. What kind of person would even notice?

I manage a large team and I would not give a flying fuck about this. Your manager should have told the petty colleague to wind their neck in.

This is the kind of thing my manager would say if it was bugging him. He'd make out that someone had complained.

Clearly not a harmonious group then if a complaint has been raised

I agree that the manager wouldn’t have said something unless it really was an issue.

Yep, this!

How often are you doing this @AmyRuby?

Are you sure it’s just using the phone for deliveries that’s being raised - phones are addictive and sometimes people are picking them up on and on them much more than they realise during the workday.

Your manager is using the old “someone has reported you, I can’t say who” because they’re a shit manager who for whatever reason won’t just come out with it and tell you to stop using your phone so much in work.

If it wasn’t an issue for your manager they should have shut down the “anonymous reporter” and not mentioned it to you at all.

The manager has to raise it if a complaint was made. Justifiable to do so

Must it? I was sitting next to someone who had literally a 30 second phone call with a plumber today, just to confirm that yes, they’d be in at 6 for the plumber to come round. I noticed it. I didn’t care, but I don’t think it follows that just because someone notices something, it is therefore excessive.

Easy solution.

OP, tell your manager you want to launch a grievance on whoever reported it.

Either your manager will fess up the asshole that complained, and if they do not, well, we know then that its your managercunt that has the issue.

Ergo, do the grievance on your manager for bullying and harassment.

It maybe that this is on the cusp of not being acceptable. Be honest- how many times does it happen? And do you spend time tracking them whilst they are on their way to your house too?

If you are absolutely clear that the level is minimal then don't worry. If it could be that you were starting to push it a bit then rein it in now something has been said.

Absolutely pathetic. This person sounds so petty and your manager didn't have to bother telling you but could have instead told that person it was a non-issue and to mind they own business.

Hope some sleuthing can lead you to the culprit.

That's what I thought. And this way you'll be looking at everyone but your manager...

How did she communicate that it wasn't an issue? How did she raise it and then say it wasn't worth raising? If there's no issue with it then all she had to do was shut it down with whoever supposedly reported it.

Christ no let’s not escalate this into she said , I said. It is disproportionate to the event. Decrease the phone use

Your manager has an issue. If they didn’t they wouldn’t have raised it.