Company asks employees to add managers to iPhones' ‘Emergency Bypass’ list: ‘I think on-call pay rates are missing'
The company's email explained the steps employees had to follow to ensure all calls and notifications from managers reached them immediately.
A Reddit user shared how their company expects them to stay available for office-related calls after office hours. The user's post has reignited a debate surrounding the employees' ‘Right to Disconnect’.
A screenshot of the company's email was shared by the user which showed instructions on how employees can ensure they get notifications of calls and messages from their managers on all their devices at all times.
In the first set of instructions, the employees were asked to add managers to ‘Emergency Bypass’ on their iPhones. This feature ensures that calls and messages from the selected contacts go through on your iPhone even if it is on silent.
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In the second set of instructions, the company listed the steps employees have to follow to enable VIP alerts on Apple Watch.
In the third set of instructions visible in the screenshot, the company even instructed employees to add contacts of managers and supervisors to the ‘Allowed Callers’ list on the ‘Focus’ mode.
They also listed the reasons for the overly specific set of instructions. “To make sure you receive urgent calls and messages from your team leaders even in silent or focus mode" was one of the reasons the company listed. The second reason, a more direct hit at the employees, stated, “Since the company pays for your phone service, calls from leadership must always come through, even in Focus Mode.”
Redditors give quirky solutions
Several Redditors replied to the user's post with ways in which they could reply and get back at the company for the email.
“Call them at 3:00 am and ask if they would still hire you if you were a worm,” a user said. “Hey boss…can spiders dance or do they just trip over all them legs?” said another.
A user jokingly suggested the user ask why there are “shadows in the Moon if there is no gravity” while another said, “Me again boss, ‘Is it true that all those little black bits in the middle of bananas are tarantula eggs?’”
A user suggested asking the managers, “Can Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself could not eat it?”
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Some question the policy
A user said that if the company provides a phone, they will be open to follow the steps mentioned in the email. “But the phone turns off at quitting time and stays off until start time,” the user added.
“It really depends on the job and the pay that comes with it. Like if you're a site reliability engineer or a surgeon…and you are paid $500,000,” another user said.
“True. On-call status has pay associated with it. On-call gets abused by employers when on-call policy has no pay,” said a third one.