In 2016, cell phones became the main means of accessing the internet in Brazil and an indispensable object for a large part of the population, including a large part of professionals during work. According to Anatel, in May 2016 Brazil reached the number of 255.23 million active lines for mobile telephony, with growth of practically 80% compared to the 143 million lines existing in 2014.
Furthermore, with the evolution of devices' connectivity to the internet, the main function of cell phones has become the use of services via the internet, such as access to e-mail, social networks, instant communication programs, audio, video and images. The main ones that we can highlight are Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, Skype, Snapchat and several others.
Bringing the topic to the corporate environment of managing people and IT resources in companies, the objective of the article is to assess what managers can/should do to face this situation of using cell phones and the internet in the workplace and the which can be done in critical cases of wasted time and decreased productivity, also addressing some issues of Brazilian labor legislation regarding the topic.
The use of personal cell phones and the internet are at the top of the list of the 10 habits that most compromise the productivity of professionals in the workplace . To solve this problem, practical and complementary measures are necessary, ranging from good guidance for employees regarding the use of devices and the internet; monitoring activities, achieving goals and delivering results for employees and teams; to the use of IT services that allow the creation of rules for what can and cannot be accessed on the internet by employees and generate reports regarding navigation within the company's corporate network.
Nowadays, it is common for professionals to use their cell phones and access email accounts or social networks with their personal accounts in the workplace, which can create numerous problems for professionals and companies.
Even though this is a common practice in companies today, we do not have any mention in Brazilian labor legislation regarding rules for using devices or the internet in the workplace and possible punishments in this regard.
That is why it is important that companies define guidelines in their internal regulations to guide the use of these resources, describing what can or cannot be accessed, under what circumstances their use is possible and what punishments are applied to those who fail to comply with the company's rules. You can download a model document on technology use policy in corporate environments , to implement in your company. There is also a specific document model on the company's cell phone use policy .
In this context, companies have the support of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), where in its article number 482, the possible reasons for dismissal for just cause are listed, with the letter “e” being “ lack of care in the performance of the respective tasks functions .” In this case, neglect corresponds to negligence in carrying out the duties performed. Therefore, simple and common actions today, such as answering phone calls, accessing a profile on social networks or even looking at and sending messages via WhatsApp or Messenger, characterize negligent behavior and divert the necessary attention that must exist on the part of the employee to carry out their pre-employment activities. -established in the company.
We can cite several examples of scenarios where the use of cell phones or the internet can characterize a lack of commitment or negligence with the activities performed, such as telemarketing companies, where the activity requires exclusive attention and any distraction can harm the service. Or even, accounting offices where the team spends almost all of their working time performing customer service activities and operations via computer.
In cases where the employee has received a warning and yet continues to act repeatedly, accessing their cell phone or carrying out personal activities on the internet that waste time and fail to perform their duties, this constitutes indiscipline and even insubordination. These points are set out in letter “h” of the same article 482 of the CLT, which states “ act of indiscipline or insubordination ”. This may also result in the employee being dismissed for just cause.
Other points that can be supported by the CLT include the possibility of employees disclosing photos, videos or messages via social networks and communication systems that could compromise/shake the image of the company's clients or co-workers, in the same way in cases of disclosure of confidential data from other companies that have a commercial relationship with the company in question. For these cases we have paragraphs “j” and “k”, which respectively address “ act harmful to honor or good reputation carried out in the service against any person, or physical offenses, under the same conditions, except in the case of self-defense, one's own or someone else's; ” and “ act harmful to honor or good reputation or physical offenses committed against the employer and hierarchical superiors, except in cases of self-defense, one's own or that of others; “.
On the other hand, we have situations where employees' working conditions are related to their motor capacity and any lack of attention can result in workplace accidents. For example activities such as operating machines, drivers and others. In these cases, it is strongly recommended to prohibit the use of cell phones, as any accident can cause physical damage and property damage.
The reality is that we are going through a period of major social and professional changes, caused mainly by access to information. New developments, new technologies, concepts and tools continue to emerge that impact the daily lives of professionals and companies, completely changing the way they work. This should cause some movement on the part of the Legislative Branch, especially in the labor area. Which unfortunately is not yet happening in Brazil. Hence the need to continue following existing, partly obsolete, standards in the application and judicialization of labor laws.
This demonstrates that the Judiciary has decided labor cases without existing standards for such circumstances, such as the use of cell phones and the internet for personal activities in the workplace. This generates a legal architecture, based on fundamental constitutional principles and social rights, different from the norms provided for in the Consolidation of Labor Laws.
Therefore, there is no impediment to the application of labor law and CLT rules in cases related to the use of technology at work that result in losses for the company. However, in a country where legislation is the basis for any judicial definition, it would be important to make changes to labor laws, aiming to meet these specific scenarios.
And you, what do you think of the legislation and the behavior of managers in relation to the use of cell phones and the internet in the workplace? How is this topic addressed in your company?
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