The UG board wants to instruct managers and employees how to use the work mobile that all staff members will soon be getting.
Being available at all times, including at night and on the weekends, shouldn’t be allowed to cause people more stress. So said board president Jouke de Vries on Thursday during a university council committee meeting. The council is worried about the new mobile phone rule at the UG.
Starting April 1, everyone will have a work mobile. Temporary staff and staff with a permanent contract of fewer than 0.5 FTE will get a softphone or a sim-only phone, while staff with a permanent contract over 0.5 FTE will get a standard smartphone. If they’d rather keep their own phone, they may also go for sim-only.
Intersecting
‘We’re all familiar with the problems of our private and professional lives intersecting’, the board president admitted upon hearing about the council’s concerns. ‘We should impose some restrictions on that.’
Supervisors should take into account that their employees don’t have to always be available outside office hours, and that they can set their phone to silent.
‘Some people’s jobs require them to always be available’, said De Vries, ‘but there are other jobs where that isn’t as necessary. I think it might be a good idea to add some instructions. We all work too much, I think.’