Here is a rant that I could not hold back any longer. People constantly checking their smartphone while they should be doing their service job drives me crazy every day! Now I don’t mean when they have some down time in their job. I mean all the time, even when they are doing their job!
Retail clerks at the cash register.
Police Officers walking their “beat”
Security Guards inside a bank
Rental Car Agents supposed to be helping customers at the counter
Flight Attendants while passengers are getting on the plane
Gate Agents while flights are delayed
Taxi Drivers while driving
Maintenance People while pushing trash baskets
TSA Officers at checkpoints
On Air Reporters while they are on the air!
When I see these people checking their phone when they are supposed to be doing their job, I go up to them and just stand there. When they finally look up, I say “am I interrupting you?”. I think this emphasizes that they should not be checking their phone right now!
The problem isn’t that they are stealing time from their employers, but that they are distracted when they should be doing their job! Think about when you check your smartphone for a moment and how it totally takes you away from what you were doing. Now, how would that affect the quality of the job you were supposed to be doing? In some cases, this distraction is downright dangerous! It also sends a bad signal about the brand and company you represent.
We all need focus to do our job well and shut out the distractions. Constantly checking our smartphone really will impact your work. It also sends the signal to your prospects, customers (and managers) that you don’t care much about the job you are doing.
In fact, it says that your physical body is there, but your mind is somewhere else. Is that the message that anyone should send while working?
