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Employee Goes On Vacation And Doesnot Take The Company Phone As Told It An IT manager’s unreasonable demands about not taking the company phone on personal trips led to her demotion and resignation after I complied precisely, prompting a new company policy.
At my previous job, we were under the thumb of powerful government agencies. They required immediate responses, and any delays could lead to business shutdowns.
I was given a specialized, dual-network company phone from a well-known California tech company, designed for reliability. This phone was essential for my role, as I needed to be available at all times, especially during rotating on-call periods.
As an avid camper, I often went on trips to remote areas. The on-call schedule worked perfectly for me: three days on-call followed by four days off. I always took the company phone with me, though I was never contacted while off-duty in the year and a half I had it.
During one camping trip, the phone’s screen got damaged. It was still usable but difficult. Upon my return, I requested a repair or replacement from IT. A high-ranking IT manager berated me, complaining about the phone’s expense and configuration difficulties. She explicitly instructed me not to take the phone on personal trips, limiting its use to home and office only. Her comments were unprofessional and included racist undertones. I confirmed her directive via email, cc’ing my manager and department head.
Cue my malicious compliance.
A few weeks later, I went on PTO for three weeks, leaving all company hardware at home as instructed. During my PTO, an emergency arose. My manager, unable to reach me on the company phone, tracked me down through colleagues.
“Why aren’t you answering the company phone?” she demanded.
“I’m not at home and don’t have the company phone with me,” I replied.
“Get back online immediately; we have an urgent situation,” she insisted.
“Sorry, I don’t have any company hardware with me,” I said.
“Why not?” she asked, frustrated.
“Per the IT manager’s directive, I’m not to take company hardware on personal trips,” I explained.
“When did this happen?” she asked, confused.
“I sent an email about it and cc’d you and our department head,” I reminded her.
After verifying the email, she instructed me to return immediately. I explained I was caring for my cousin after a difficult childbirth and couldn’t come back.
The manager cut off the call, then called back 30 minutes later.
“Do you have anyone who can access your apartment?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Give me their contact. We’ll ship your company hardware to you tonight. We need you back,” she said.
I agreed, on the condition that my PTO be extended for the intrusion. She approved this via email.
By 8 PM, I received my company phone, computer, and other hardware. I also received two emails: one approving the extended PTO and another from the department head reinstating the original policy, stating that employees must keep their company hardware with them even on PTO. The IT manager was cc’d on this email.
When I returned from PTO, the IT manager was gone. She had been demoted and subsequently quit. The company had spent over $6,000 to ship the hardware to me that day.
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Employee Goes On Vacation And Doesnot Take The Company Phone As Told It
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**TL;DR:** After an IT manager harshly demanded that I leave company equipment at home and not take it on personal trips, I followed her orders precisely. This led to her demotion and resignation, and a new policy was implemented requiring employees to keep their hardware with them even during PTO.
At my previous job, I was given a high-tech company phone that was crucial for my role. I often took it with me on camping trips, though I was never contacted during my time off. When the phone got damaged, an IT manager berated me and demanded that I not take the phone on personal trips. I confirmed her directive via email.
During my PTO, an emergency arose. My manager, unable to reach me, asked me to return. I refused, citing the IT manager’s instructions. After some back-and-forth, my manager arranged for the hardware to be shipped to me and extended my PTO as compensation. Upon my return, the IT manager was gone, having been demoted and quit. The company had spent over $6,000 to expedite the hardware shipment.
SnooWords4839 writes:
Back when punch cards and 4part printer paper was a thing, part of my job was to run the updates and get the copies ready for other to use. I did the update before I left on a Friday and then kept popping back into office over the weekend and replacing the paper and getting the books ready for everyone, by Monday morning. the staff loved it.
My boss told me too many hours logged on the time sheet and I shouldn’t work weekends. Next update, I did as I was told, 25 programmers wasted most of Monday, waiting for their copies.
Head boss called me and immediate boss in and asked what was going on and I explained. He asked if I was fine with doing the weekend stuff and I said yes, he said he will approve a bonus for each weekend the updates happened, in addition to my normal rate. My immediate boss just sat there, not saying a word, but did sign off on my time for the rest of the time I was there.
technos writes:
The company had to spend over $6k to ship it on the same day, and get the hardware to me.
Years ago an acquaintance of mine got a knock on his door while on vacation in the South Pacific. It was the hotel concierge, with a phone message and package that had come in while he was out at dinner.
The phone message read simply “Sorry, production is down”, and the package, from a computer store in the island, contained a brand new laptop and cell phone.
He said it took longer for him to do the initial setup on the machine and download an SSH client than to fix the problem, a stuck service.
merrywidow14 writes:
Many years ago, when Nextel radio/phones were the go-to, the company only gave me radio access.v I spoke to the manager and asked if he could give me phone access. He asked why I needed it and I told him I may have to call a client for directions, i sometimes travel late at night. Nothing was done. Flew to a client on the other side of the country and he called and asked me why I didn’t take the Nextel. Will the radio work here? No. Did you give me phone access? No. So why the hell would I take it?
Xenosaiga writes:
spectrum_specter writes:
Wonder if at that point it’s cheaper just to pay someone to get on a plane with the tech lol.
