Boss told me to get off my personal phone in a meeting

[Onetwobuckeroo]

I work in a corporate role. I do my job, deliver and go above and beyond. In a team meeting today, a message appeared on my phone from my kids school. I was still listening to the conversation but opened the message instinctively. Suddenly my boss snaps my name to get my attention, then proceeds to ask whether I’m in the meeting or on the phone?! I then instantly put my phone down, confused at their outburst but did say, it was to do with my children. (They don’t have kids).

I was really taken a back but I did pull my boss up on it. I said ok, I was on my phone but everyone picks up / types / gets distracted with technology, albeit emails on laptops, work phones, personal phones during lengthy meetings. Boss said yes but now I’ve been called out on it, it should remind others how to conduct themselves in a meeting.

AIBU - You’re in the wrong. Accept it, you got caught, when in the boss’s eyes you weren’t concentrating
YANBU - Boss was out of order. You’re not a child.

Has it been an issue across meetings that people are not paying attention?

I dont think your boss should need to be snaping or needing to make an issue of it in middle of the meeting.
As that action is distracting and rude if someone is presenting or covering an important topic

Yes snaping also rude but you should not have tried to justify it by saying everbody else is ignoring you too (awkard 😬)

You should have just said sorry and moved on.

You shouldn’t have your phone out and so you instinctively open the message.
Work meeting means you’re at work, so why did you think it was okay.
Ypu don’t say that it was of dire importance so presumably it could have waited.

My boss wouldn’t do that but i’d have to take it on the chin if told off.

Honestly, I don’t know a person who doesn’t look at the phone to check a message isn’t urgent. If not phone then on a watch. It’s more unprofessional for him to snap and reprimand than you to take a peek. Scrolling no. Peeking yes.

I’ve had a message from school to ask where my daughter was…whom I’d dropped off at school 3 hours earlier.

You can bet your arse ik responding to that message (not phone call) immediately

You shouldn't have been on your phone but telling you off publicly as an example for others is poor leadership.

They could easily have asked there and then whether everything is ok when you moved your attention to your phone. You'd have been able to apologise that you'd seen a message from the school and put your phone away or left to deal with it.

You don’t check your phone in meetings. How would you feel if your dentist, shop assistant and so on stopped dealing with you to answer the phone?

You shouldn't be looking at a personal phone in a meeting. Some might go as far as to say you shouldn't even have a personal phone on you in a meeting. It should be left in your bag/desk etc. As for calling your boss out...eek!! You were in the wrong here! My only gripe would be that your boss should have taken you to one side after the meeting, and reprimanded you, rather than in front of others. However, by doing it in front of others, at least your colleagues now know not to do the same! My son's school has my work number as well as my mobile number. I also have voice mail on my mobile, so messages can be left. You need to apologise properly to your boss, and accept you were in the wrong.

Is this a wind up? Of course you were in the wrong. How rude to ‘pull your boss up’ and try to justify that everyone does it

I don’t know what the world is coming to. I honestly can’t believe this question needs to be asked. Do we all have such an issue with authority and being told we can’t do something anymore, we need to check it’s unfair? Do we all need to feel we have special circumstances? Can we not just take simple appropriate criticism without whining about it?

I would only take my personal phone into a work meeting if I were expecting an urgent call, and I would explain in advance to my colleagues why I might need to react.

Would I look at my phone in a meeting? depends. A meeting with the boss of my boss, no. A meeting about my work or a supervision, no. In a half day meeting with a lot of the team there, yes if I saw something urgent pop up.

I work before my official day begins, I answer their phone in my own time, I work over my hours on a salary so no overtime rate for me.
Their business infringes on my personal time almost every day now, so yep, I sometimes have to juggle home and work in order to get to bed time without telling them to stuff said job 😀

I think you were in the wrong but acknowledge that lots of people do it. I don't have my phone on me at all because I'm at a school. However, if I was your boss I would speak to you privately about it

I don’t agree with pps who say that it’s always unprofessional to check devices in meetings. I have worked in environments where it’s totally normal to be on devices throughout meetings, often to look up things that are key to what’s being discussed in the meeting. But this was a personal phone and if there was an issue you needed to know about straight away then you would have got a phone call. So ultimately I am with your boss. Don’t sweat it though.

I can’t see a problem with quickly glancing at a message in a work meeting but maybe it depends on the kind of working environment you are in.

YABU. If I’m in an entire team meeting I may bring my phone in and put it face down, if I’m in a part team meeting I leave it on my desk with the volume up and ask a colleague to let me know if it rings and says ‘nursery’ or ‘DH’s Name’ on the caller ID as either would only phone in an emergency.

That said, my MD always brings his phone into meetings and checks (work) emails and messages when he’s not contributing so he’s not exactly setting a gold standard.

That’s so much more disruptive tho than a quick check and put it back down.

I'm shocked at the amount of people who have their personal phones with them during actual meetings.

Its different for us as we can't have our mobiles in work, but we don't even sit round our computers during meetings so aren't distracted by emails etc.

YABU and it would have pissed me off to see you scrolling on your phone during a meeting. I can't believe you "pulled your boss up" on it either. You were wrong.

Oh the entitlement of some is off the scale. I worked with a woman who took a FaceTime call at her desk and got really stroppy when told to end the call or go outside.

We are quite easy, we let people have phones on their desk but personal calls should be taken to the kitchen or lobby.

Been to plenty of meetings

It's rude to get your phone out and check it

Was leading a meeting yesterday and people kept checking their phone during it, felt like they weren't listening to me. Wish I'd had this boss's balls to call them out!

My phone would be in my bag during a meeting. So yes I think this is rude.

I loved that you pulled your boss up after your misdemeanour. That must have made things so much better 😀.

Leave your personal phone out of meetings. If it is something urgent from the school make sure they have either your work phone details or the number for the office.

I did pull my boss up on it. I said ok, I was on my phone but everyone picks up / types / gets distracted with technology, albeit emails on laptops, work phones, personal phones during lengthy meetings.

I'm not in a very formal work environment and this certainly isn't the case in any meeting I've been in.
Occasionally someone might apologise at the start of a meeting that they're waiting for an urgent call, but they'd always leave the room if they get it.