Incessant phone calls and interruption

[Morro1985]

I have been working in a finance support role now for over a year. I’m an accountant but I do many administrative tasks also to keep my division going. This is - and is stated in my contract- an 8:45 to 5 job. My predecessor worked for over 30 years with the company and had a very close relationship with one of my managers (he is not my boss and acts often in conflict to what my boss desires). In fact, she worked around the clock with him and brought work home even when it was not necessary. During my first few weeks I had to constantly ignore calls from the manager which were completely outside of my working hours.

This manager is very “old school” in his attitude. In trying to spend time getting to know me he already crossed a few of my red lines by stating personal opinions and judgements about things I told him.

Now, I am having huge communication problems because he won’t respect my boundaries- I told him I do not answer calls all day long (In fact I really dislike using the phone and have told him this). I asked him to e-mail me and mentioned that I will take a call once in the morning and once in the afternoon but he refuses to do this. Yesterday before 11 I had 6 missed calls- he was calling to communicate detailed yet non urgent information that I really prefer in writing. I feel that I should stick to my two calls a day policy until he learns to work this way but I am uncomfortable ignoring calls as of course I want to work well with everyone and I don’t want to create resentment.

My boss supports me but he is a bit at a loss too as he can’t control this manager who has been in the company much longer and who specialises in a division that nobody else knows how to run.

Not sure what to do here? I really like my boss and my job but this individual is making it very difficult for me.

Honestly o think it's totally a bit much to decide you are only going to answer your phone twice a day. It absolutely wouldn't fly in my office.
Your personal presence might be email but it doesn't mean your colleagues can't call you on assuming your work phone?

I agree with @lizzyBennet08

I don't think employees can arbitrarily decide they aren't going to answer phone calls, whoever they are from, but potentially more so when it is a more senior person in the company.

Refusing to carry out a very normal work activity during work hours is not a “boundary”, it insubordination and a disciplinary matter.

You won’t last long if you think unilaterally applying a ridiculous one-woman “policy” is the way to navigate a workplace.

Calls outside hours are where you can draw boundaries (turn your work phone off if not on call) but within working hours you can't just not take calls. As you have pointed out it will cause resentment. You could take the call and ask him to follow up by email if he is giving more detailed information than you can reasonably make notes of as he speaks but you can't really ignore the calls even if it is really distracting. Just not liking phone calls is definitely not a reason to ignore them unless its an agreed reasonable adjustment.

This is very interesting and I feel compelled to follow up without being argumentative. I had name changed as previously I had posted on the work forum and was absolutely slated for my views by many.

Now, the exact same problem I had with this manager calling happened to my Gen Z colleague last Friday. Not only did she ignore his calls but she told the whole office that there was no way she was going to use the phone to talk to him. In fact he rang her manager, he rang me to ask me to tell her to call him, and guess what? Her manager and basically everyone else in the company totally supported her opposition to answering the phone and doing any business on the phone.

How many times would he ring you if you answered the phone every time?

I find some older workers really struggle to convey information by email and prefer to discuss it. That's fine if you've got nothing else to do but phone calls are far more time consuming than email.

He would annoy me but depending on how senior to me he was I'd suck it up.

Her manager and basically everyone else in the company totally supported her opposition to answering the phone and doing any business on the phone.

I find this very very hard to believe...in my workplace, which is full of Gen Z employees at the junior level, answering work calls during the work day is non negotiable and ESPECIALLY from a more senior team member, unless you're actually in a meeting with someone else/on the loo etc (and in this case you'd be expected to ring back as soon as you're free). It's the quid pro quo for having a more flexible working arrangement eg. working from home sometimes or from a coffee shop, or when travelling. In return we reject presenteeism, and don't expect our juniors to be chained to their desks earlier and later than the senior managers.

Now, if this one particular guy is just a timewaster and calling everyone under the sun for no purpose and tying you all up, that's a different matter. But I really am struggling to envisage a manager and the whole rest of the company, supporting a junior member of staff saying she will never answer the phone to anybody at all.

I feel there must be a huge backstory here. I was expecting to read your boss was calling outside of work hours and expecting an answer. I have never come across a role where an employer has said they won't take phone calls.

You can't just refuse to answer your phone

I can see your point. I much prefer to have information sent over by email.

You need to subtly train him. Answer every single phone call but take an
inordinate amount of time to write down every detail and make it obvious that you are writing it all down in a document. Ask him to repeat himself a few times, tell him to slow down, ask him to hold whilst you scan a recently arrived email, tell him to speak a bit louder, repeat something a few more times, if he tries to end the phone call insist that he keeps on the line to clarify a few details.

You are turning the tables so that he gets fed up of being on the phone to you. Then at the end of every phone call remind him that you are happy for him to email you all this information.

Eventually the penny will drop that it makes more sense to use email.

I think you can if it’s an internal call and you’re preparing for the next meeting or deadline. Accounting where I am is largely getting figures ready for deadlines. You’d keep losing your place or make mistakes if someone kept interrupting like that.

He’s not a client or service user after all. He just likes to chat.

@Newstrongerme Yeah, sure, like in any role, there are limits—but this doesn’t happen every single day. I can’t imagine a situation where a junior employee tells their manager they’re only willing to pick up the phone twice a day. That’s absolutely insane.

And here I was thinking that the woman I worked with, who outright refused to take any meetings on Fridays, was pushing it. What OP is describing? That’s on a whole other level of being unreasonable....

Yes do this. If you want to end up in performance management.

Not answering the phone, especially to a more senior staff member during your working hours because you don’t want to is not something many employers would find acceptable surely. Communication via various routes is just basic in most jobs roles. Can’t you just ask during the phone call that the information be sent in an email as well, so you have the paper trail.

I cant believe what Im reading here

If you are actually busy at the time he rings, say by being on the phone, in a meeting, attending to an urgent piece of paperwork and admin, fine, you're busy and you cant answer

But you should be communicating with your colleages/bosses and if you're free, you answer the phone

He's ringing you so often because you're not answering or probably being awkward

Whats all this 'old school' or 'Gen Z' bollocks as well

Just do your bloody job.

This person does not manage OP. You do not get put in performance management by people outside of your chain of command and OP has the backing of her manager.

You are being wildly unreasonable! If a more senior staff member wants to dictate info by phone then you don’t get to just ignore them.

Paper trails are important in many lines of work. I would prefer them as well.

I’d prefer an email too, then I can respond, refer back to the details but refusing to answer the phone whilst at work?! I can’t decide if it’s just stupid, childish or you being deliberately awkward. Just answer the ruddy phone and he’ll stop trying every 20 minutes. He must be incredibly frustrated. Outside of work, fine, but surely it’s your actual job to respond to a senior member of staff? Bonkers.

I despair sometimes, whoever heard of a person dictating how many times they could be called in the day.

You'd last 5 minutes in any job I've ever heard, just answer the blooming phone.