Just type a message? Cell phone use at work is allowed

Quickly write another message, check e-mails or see who shared which photos and when: you have your smartphone at hand for this – and not necessarily just for a few seconds.

This is suggested, for example, by a representative study by Postbank from 2022: According to it, Germans spend an average of more than 20 hours a week online with their smartphones. That's roughly the equivalent of a part-time position.

And while we're on the topic of work: do you occasionally reach for your cell phone while you're sitting at your desk or when there's no customer around? If so, the question quickly arises: How much smartphone time is it actually allowed to be at work - and how do you check your messages in a work-friendly way?

First of all, the legal part: Employers can usually not completely ban smartphones in the workplace. "At least during breaks, employees must have the opportunity to organize their free time as they see fit," says legal expert Till Bender from the legal protection department of the German Trade Union Confederation (DBG).

During working hours, however, employers can expect employees to be available with their labor - and not be distracted by the fact that they are constantly looking at the display.

"In any case, if the smartphone causes a distraction, the employer can forbid it," says Bender. Does your company have a works council, but only together with it.

If you don't need full concentration for the job in question, for example because it's physical work, then there's nothing wrong with employees listening to music or podcasts on their smartphones during working hours, says Bender.

But there are restrictions here too: employers can ban smartphones, for example, where there is a risk that employees will take unauthorized photos with their device.

Whether the use of smartphones at work is allowed or not depends on the individual case, what is being worked on - and above all how the device is used. "However, employees should always be advised to hold back when using their smartphones at work if in doubt," recommends legal expert Bender.

Even where it is not explicitly forbidden, you should not tap on your smartphone every five minutes. "My recommendation would be if you look at it twice or three times a day during working hours, that's okay," says image consultant Imme Vogelsang. For everything else there is a break.

If you can't avoid answering private messages more often or checking your cell phone more than usual, etiquette coach Nandine Meyden advises dealing with the situation openly. Then you could say in the office: "I'm sorry if I keep checking my cell phone today, a good friend of mine had an operation this morning, I've been checking all the time to make sure everything is okay and now I want to send good wishes".

How exactly you explain why you look at your cell phone more than usual these days, of course, always depends on you and the situation at hand. "It should simply be a very short explanation that makes it clear to the colleagues that this is not happening out of boredom, but that there are understandable reasons," says Meyden.

In any case, Imme Vogelsang advises against using the smartphone in the office as secretly as possible. "If I do that, then I do it quite normally." In case of doubt, everything else tends to create a bad mood, according to the image consultant.

A clear no-go: Looking at your smartphone without a good reason when you are in a customer appointment, in a conversation with colleagues or even with your superiors. "Then that's a clear message: My private life is more important to me than what's happening here at work," says Nandine Meyden.

And if you're typing on your smartphone at work and the boss doesn't react enthusiastically, maybe even drop an angry comment? "Then I would really try to talk to my superior," says Imme Vogelsang.

Here you can apologize politely - and above all ask specific questions: "What is okay for the superiors and when does it start to bother you?" says Vogelsang. In the best case, you can find a good solution for occasional smartphone use during working hours.

Incidentally, the two etiquette experts agree on one thing: private telephone calls or telephone calls to doctors, for example, have no place in an open-plan office.

"Ultimately, you can't prevent yourself from hearing what's being said on the phone," says Vogelsang. That not only distracts the colleagues. You might not want to reveal too much private information yourself.

She advises: if possible leave the workplace for such telephone calls for a short time – or ideally put the conversation right into the lunch break. Is that not possible and the call is urgent? "Then I would try to speak as quietly as possible," says Vogelsang.

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