Boss fumes as worker maliciously complies with his new 'no phones' policy — missing 17 emergency calls

In a Reddit post by u/Mother_Soraka, an IT support employee shared how their manager’s strict new policy on phones unraveled almost as quickly as it was introduced. The employee explained that their team had always been allowed to keep phones at their desks. In the post that gained 22k upvotes since being shared on August 19th, they wrote, "Sometimes family emergencies happen, doctors call back, whatever. As long as we weren't scrolling social media all day, nobody cared." But that changed when a new manager saw someone glance at a text message.

Within hours, the entire office received a strongly worded email stating, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: No personal phones during work hours. They must be left in your car or locker. This means 9-5, NO EXCEPTIONS. Anyone caught with a phone will be written up." The problem, as the employee pointed out, was that the same manager worked from home three days a week and relied on employees’ personal phones whenever server issues popped up after hours. The company didn’t issue work phones, which meant after-hours support only worked if staff had access to their own devices.

That tension came to a head on a Friday afternoon. At 4:45 pm, a major server issue hit, and the user spotted the alert, but true to policy, their phone was locked away in the car. "I calmly finish my work at 5:00 and walk out," they wrote. They only checked the messages once they got back into the car. "I have 17 missed calls and a string of increasingly panicked texts from my manager," the user noted. When they finally called back, the manager was furious, demanding to know why they hadn’t answered. The employee reminded him of the no phones policy. When the manager insisted that the situation was different because this was an emergency, the employee said, "NO EXCEPTIONS." 

As a result, the manager sent a new email: "Personal phones are permitted at desks for emergency purposes." It’s a turnaround that mirrors what researchers have found in the real world. A University of Galway study, led by Professor Eoin Whelan, looked at how smartphone bans at work affect employees. The researchers found that outright bans often backfire, creating higher levels of stress and harming overall well-being. The researchers followed a company that shifted its policy from fully banning to allowing personal smartphone use for non-work purposes and found that when the ban was lifted, work‑life conflict declined significantly. Plus, stress related to managing personal and work demands decreased.

The post drew plenty of amused and frustrated reactions from readers who had dealt with similar contradictions. u/colin_staples wrote, "Now this is malicious compliance. And I wouldn't answer his calls or messages outside of 9-5 unless I was paid to be on call." u/foxfai added, "'My home policy stated no work related calls during home hours, you can call my desk phone between M-F, 9am-5pm.'" u/Alexis_J_M shared, "My last few jobs we've been given a choice of a company phone or a hefty subsidy towards our personal phone bills." u/Fuzzy_Translator4639 explained, "I had that issue where my employer kept asking me for my cell number. I said if you want to call me during work then issue me a work phone. They stopped asking."

More on Scoop Upworthy

Employee told to clock out only with manager's permission — she makes boss regret it immediately

Employee takes a stand after manager forced them to talk about personal life in work meetings

Employee walks out after manager denies leave for their mother's funeral citing lack of staff