Cellphones: Should you lose your job over what you texted to your boss?

[Sticky Squid]

I wouldn't give my boss my number anyway, so problem averted.

 

[Radeonx]

Don't give douchebags your phone. You will get fucked.
That is what appeared to happen here.

 

[ultrachicken]

Please don't call everything you don't like gay.

Anyways, if your friend can make a sound argument that he didn't send the text, then he shouldn't be fired. Otherwise, I don't see a problem with firing him.

 

[rokkolpo]

If it can't be verified that the owner of the cell-phone send it.
Then no, you shouldn't be fired over a text.

 

[Mr.White]

He said what he wanted and tried getting away with it by playing dumb.
Or
He should have a password on his phone to stop anyone else texting his boss.


The boss has proof of the conversation, of course i'm assuming that the company has your colleague's number on the system (my work place does), i know i wouldn't get away with doing that if i did it.

 

[KEM10]

Wait, company phone or private phone?
I think this is just as important of a question, because if it is a company phone no one else should touch it and it is his responsibility to keep it as such. When I lived with my parents, I only touched my mom's phone when it was ringing to bring to her, if anyone besides her answered it she could have lost her job.

 

[Danzaivar]

Please don't call everything you don't like gay.

OP was quoting his friend.

 

[ultrachicken]

Please don't call everything you don't like gay.

OP was quoting his friend.

Speaking honestly, I find the text exchange funny as hell (the job IS gay)

He also used it himself.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

..Texting your boss? That's a huge issue to begin with on so many levels. Not only are you now under being contacted by your boss, but also your boss can make you work whenever or do favors, as well as seek your attention for job-related purposes. What if you don't have your cell and your boss gets angry that you don't text back right away? Yea.. that's just one of the issues.

Agreed. My dad was a manager for a plastic plant a while back, and EVERYONE turned to him to fix EVERYTHING, since he had mechanical know-how. This led to a very nasty situation.

So one of the higher ups was in China, checking out a plant they had down there. He calls my dad sometime in the afternoon, china time. .......but due to time difference, it's 4 AM HERE in Montreal. The guy starts demanding my dad get him some kind of schematics or other info immediately. My dad cannot refuse (the guy was a big-shot, apparently), so he spent 2 hours on the phone, trying to resolve the situation, and the guy was telling my dad he was being "un-helpful, now pay attention, will ya! No, I don't CARE what time it is for you, you're expected to be reachable at all times, despite having a 9 to 5 schedule!"

So yeah. That's one reason why your bosses being able to contact you anytime is bad. If they can reach you anytime, they can expect you to be AVAILABLE anytime.

 

[BRex21]

Yea, if the person was arriving late regularly they get no sympathy from me, but as for the text, if someone else had the phone they REALLY shouldn't be firing someone for that, and with a text there is really no way to prove who it was.

 

[Chrono180]

If he was off the clock, you technically can't be fired as you are not legally bound to the company on your off time. However the digital line has blurred personal and professional and many if not all employees and managers don't know how to differentiate the two. This often results in a manager firing an employee over something being said over a poker game or having the OP conversation except the employee has the day off.

Hate to break it to you, but in actuality you can be fired for pretty much any reason whatsoever since employers are not required to give a explanation for dismissal. While most of them do give reasons, the only reasons you supposedly can't be fired is for race, gender, religion, and ancestry and even then all they have to do is to lie and say it was for "performance reasons" or something similar.

So yes, you can be fired if someone steals your phone. You really shouldn't be dismissed for it, but you can be. Now, if your friend is telling the truth maybe he could sue the thief of the phone for lost wages or something similar. I am not a lawyer though, so I can't say for sure.

 

[Jonluw]

I guess it works like it does with passwords here on the escapist (at least I think it was on the escapist). You're responsible for keeping your password to yourself, so if someone finds out your password, and uses your account to say stupid shit, you will still get banned.

It doesn't make sense to be fired for not keeping track of you cellphone though.

 

[PureChaos]

sounds like he wasn't being fired for the texts, he was fired for being constantly late. perfectly reasonable to me.

if he was to be fired because of the texts, they should probably make sure it was him who sent the texts and the content of said texts was bad enough to warrant dismissal.

 

[katsumoto03]

It really needs looking into.

For example: Who does he know who could have had the phone and would have done this, and why was he late?

The answers are respectively: His pimp, his pimp.

 

[Chrono180]

Wait, steal? I thought the reason of this post was because the guy got fired for mouthing off at his manager when he was supposed to be in work and on the clock. At what point did stealing a phone come into play?

Did you read the entire OP? While it is possible the guy was mouthing off, the OP also said that it might have been someone else who took the guy's phone.

 

[Kyuubi Fanatic]

I once gave my boss my number because he required it. Big mistake

Just don't do it. Or shit will happen.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

Unless he can provide proof that someone else did it, then he deserved to be fired. Sorry, but be more careful with your phone.