Many of you may have heard about or seen the video of the lady walking in a mall while texting and she walked right into the mall fountain. Tripped over the edge of the fountain and fell in face first. Mall security apparently posted a copy of the security videio on youtube and it went viral.
So it got me thinking, since the whole issue of texting while driving, that walking and texting while at work for work related activity is not much different. There have been serious accidents and fatalities related to people walking into traffic and get struck by a vehicle as well as walking into other objects. If the person was an employee who had been issued the mobile phone by the employer for work purposes and was texting or responding to work related emails when the accident occurred - does this result in a "work related accident"? Is this a compensation claim? Is the employer legally liable?
For all employers out there, if the issue of employer vicarious liability holds true for driving while texting, why would it not apply to work related walking and texting?
Due diligence would dictate that an employer should establish strict documented rules for the use of company issued mobile phones. Those rules must be communicated to employees and enforced. The communication and enforcement must be well documented.
What do you think?
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TWIITTER DEE
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The true demise of American productivity is the cell phone, or more specifically; texting, micro texting (twitter), video /picture cell phones, etc.? I believe texting is destroying workplace productivity. It is impossible to sustain momentum in the workplace when everyone is constantly texting. It is like everyone is trying to maintain some sort of ongoing storyline to their boring, insignificant lives.
I’ll explain it this way. Let’s say that Sally (or Johnny) is a at work and she/he has an emotional crisis going on with her boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, significant other … whatever, or she/he is in heat and needs some love ‘in. Think of all the thought, emotional energy, etc., preceding the text and after the text that is expended. That is thought, emotional energy, etc., lost on the on text instead of applying it to their job. I implore those that manage employees to walk down the office hallway by the employee offices, or the employee cubicles, and notice how many of your employees are preoccupied with their cell phones. Cell phones in the work place need to be deposited somewhere in the office where employees can access them at designated cell phone times. This will increase productivity. There was a time when we didn’t have cell phones, and the world was just fine. Of course, just because you are the boss doesn’t exclude you…time management must include cell phone time, too.
Definitely! Well, I don't think I can still count all of the times when somebody texting has bump into me. If it is dangerous in places like pedestrian, it is definitely more dangerous in workplaces.
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