Companies Are Locking Up Employee Phones
FrequencyMay 25, 202600:05:19

Companies Are Locking Up Employee Phones

Phone pouches — the same sealed technology used at concerts and comedy shows — are showing up in call centers and offices. Companies including id.me are having employees lock their personal devices during shifts. JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon has called phones in meetings "disrespectful." The trend is spreading fast.

The research behind it is shakier than the headlines suggest. Phone bans can help with routine, repetitive work. For roles requiring creativity or judgment, the evidence gets murkier — you can lock a phone in a pouch, but you can't lock out a distracted mind. And nobody's talking about the trust dimension: locking up a personal device says something specific about the employer-employee relationship. Whether it reads as "we care about your focus" or "we don't trust you to manage yourself" probably depends on whether anyone asked employees before rolling it out.

Chuck and Jenni ask the obvious question: would you let your employer lock up your phone?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/phone-bans-us-workplace-employee-distractions-b2968582.html