Calling off work via txt

[Piecey]

I could understand an e-mail.. if e-mail was instantaneous and the boss made it clear that was preferred.

Like, where I work-- we're required to keep e-mail open if we have access to it. We are on our computers ALL day, our jobs would be non-existant without them.
When we get an email, the box pops up and says "You have new mail!"
It would be impossible to miss an e-mail and as the person calling off, i'd like the "proof" that I did it.

I, however, know my boss lives an hour from our location and so I can call her cell phone up to 2 hours before we open and get her. So thats what I do.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

This really depends where you work, at my place it would depend on what department you are in, I could certainly text it

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I'll agree it's an issue for my generation. I hate texting with a passion. It is single handedly killing the English language for my generation and younger generations. I do not place the blame solely on schools.

When I was in middle school we had a whole class devoted to those life skills mentioned above: balancing a check book, comparing prices, etc. I believe in our area you had to take a similar class in high school (can't say for sure since I skipped high school). The problem is that the students just don't give a darn. I teach fourth grade special ed at the moment, and right now they are find because none of my kdis have cell phones or text. When I was in seventh grade special ed earlier this semester, it was slightly different. I had to constantly remind my students that words had vowels.

The girls in my program who are interning at the high school have it even harder. The kids try to text during class, in the hallways, you're lucky if you can even get them to pay attention. They confiscate the phones when they can, but it really is a losing battle, not that they don't try.

As to texting as a method for calling into work- yeesh! Unless your boss has specifically stated that is how they want it, I would never do that. I don't know about anybody else, but I almost never read text messages right away. My friends know not to send me anything time sensitive via text message. This person needs a wake up call.

 

[Tink888]

I've emailed to call off before. As a rule our managers like a phone call, but sometimes they aren't in when you call or their covers are on so who knows how long before they get the message. I know my boss has his blackberry with him all the time so I figure he'll get the email before he gets the phone message.

I think it also depends on your relationship with your boss, your call-off history and what kind of employee you are.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I text if I'm going to be late. I haven't had to call in for the whole day off but I don't think they'd care if I texted. Everyone's always in meetings and never answer their cells or check their VM's but I know they'll check their texts. I would probably call and leave a VM and send a text, just to cover my bases. I also only send texts to people I know that they text and know how to text(which is all of my bosses). I also text the owner of the company if someone is there to see him and he's in a meeting. He appreciates it as it doesn't interrupt the meeting with a phone call, it's quick, and he can communicate back. We have a range of ages (26-55) and we all text each other work related information.

I love to text but I always type out full words. I can't stand typing short handed messages or using emoticons.

 

[georgina]

Our schools now prefer e-mails for notifying them of a sick child who will not be in school, early dismissal, etc. I don't see why a text is so terrible. Does the workplace have written rules regarding how to notify them?

 

[wendy darling]

That is unprofessional. Especially for a new employee. That is just a way to not deal with the consequences of calling out of work.

If your boss has asked that you either e-mail or text information to them, that is fine and you are going by the rules.

 

[Mom2Satan&Daisy]

I work in retail. When I call out...it's generally to the day manager on duty. About 50% of the time, the day manager forgets to write down the info. So now after some issues I will ALSO send a text to my night time manager and a fellow coworker that will have to cover for me. This way no one can say they didn't know. And I won't get another 2am phone call asking if everything is ok.

I work overnights, so if I call out at 5pm.....my boss and coworker are usually sleeping at that time. A text doesn't wake them like a phone call would.

I also have a few coworkers that will text ME to say they won't be in..for the same reason. The system they have doesn't work well.


But otherwise, I think just calling out via text is tacky. My boss and I have worked it out this way as a back up system.

 

[Carys]

I don't see the problem as being "texting in sick" in itself - the problem seems to be that "texting in sick" is not what is required by her employer. Other workplaces have different expectations.

The more high-tech my workplace becomes, the more acceptable using that technology for all aspects of the job becomes. An email calling in sick is the standard here, it takes less time to read an email than to listen to the equivalent call and instantly creates a "paper record" in electronic form that we can come back to if needs be later. Those emails are often sent from a work blackberry - it's not too much of a leap from there to texting. Plus, it's hard to sound professional when your sinuses are about to burst out of your head.

People who have been in this job 30 plus years have no problem adapting and don't see an issue, and it's a pretty tradition-soaked line of business that I'm in. I don't see this as a generational issue, I think it's just some workplaces are changing the way they do business because the technology is now there, and this person in question didn't read her workplace's culture correctly.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I required that my employees send me an e-mail with PTO (paid time off) in the subject of the e-mail. I prefer that to a phone call because they can send it whenever it is convenient for them and I can read it whenever it is convenient for me. I also like it because it makes it easier for me to reconcile my PTO report to the times people were out because I can easily pull up a list of all e-mails with PTO in the subject. If there is something I need to discuss with them about being off, I call them or they call me.

 

[Val]

As a college prof, I am amazed at how the "younger generation" uses technology. Most of my students email questions to me- at 2 AM, and they are bewildered when I didn't answer them right away, etc....but today I have had it with modern technology.

The dean of technology calls me today- the cyber police (FEDS) are on their way to inspect my teaching lab.....seems several of my GRADUATE students have been using my login to access illegal downloading sites for wii games, movies, etc. late at night, weekends, etc. and stealing the info. I am livid- immediately send out an email to grad students to report in ASAP. Two of them show up within 20 min of receiving email.....want to know if they can borrow my backup harddrive to copy the illegal stuff to so the cybercop can't find it- they went to so much work to download it and don't want to lose it! Then, when I refuse, they want to know where I keep the extra CDs because they already used the ones I had left out for making backup copies of data- and they need more. They really, really didn't get it that they had engaged in an illegal act- and that they risked MY reputation as well.

Cybercop was very nice- installed some software on my lab computers that should prevent downloading, reassured me that they doubted that I was the one using the movies (slasher/crash-em-up movies and wargames typically used by young late-adolescent males) and that they couldn't prosecute- but hoped they put the fear of God in the students. Hopefully, that is the end of that.....

....but what really irks me is that the students saw nothing wrong with their actions, and acted like they were put out that they had to postpone studying for finals and writing papers to "rescue" their stuff.......maybe I should have just waited for the cybercop and skipped the warning! These are PhD graduate students- brilliant individuals (who are obviously without social lives if they are playing these games all the time).........doesn't anyone teach that stealing is wrong, common courtesy is of utmost importance and basic civility is #1?

 

[wendy darling]

As a college prof, I am amazed at how the "younger generation" uses technology. Most of my students email questions to me- at 2 AM, and they are bewildered when I didn't answer them right away, etc....but today I have had it with modern technology.

The dean of technology calls me today- the cyber police (FEDS) are on their way to inspect my teaching lab.....seems several of my GRADUATE students have been using my login to access illegal downloading sites for wii games, movies, etc. late at night, weekends, etc. and stealing the info. I am livid- immediately send out an email to grad students to report in ASAP. Two of them show up within 20 min of receiving email.....want to know if they can borrow my backup harddrive to copy the illegal stuff to so the cybercop can't find it- they went to so much work to download it and don't want to lose it! Then, when I refuse, they want to know where I keep the extra CDs because they already used the ones I had left out for making backup copies of data- and they need more. They really, really didn't get it that they had engaged in an illegal act- and that they risked MY reputation as well.

Cybercop was very nice- installed some software on my lab computers that should prevent downloading, reassured me that they doubted that I was the one using the movies (slasher/crash-em-up movies and wargames typically used by young late-adolescent males) and that they couldn't prosecute- but hoped they put the fear of God in the students. Hopefully, that is the end of that.....

....but what really irks me is that the students saw nothing wrong with their actions, and acted like they were put out that they had to postpone studying for finals and writing papers to "rescue" their stuff.......maybe I should have just waited for the cybercop and skipped the warning! These are PhD graduate students- brilliant individuals (who are obviously without social lives if they are playing these games all the time).........doesn't anyone teach that stealing is wrong, common courtesy is of utmost importance and basic civility is #1?

I would have kicked them out of school and failed them in your class. I cannot tolerate illegal acts. If I were a professor or dean of the college/university, I would have had a big smile on my face while filling out the paperwork to kick them out of the program.
Because if they are doing this, who's to say they haven't done other illegal acts, or cheated on papers. etc...

At my university I had to sign a code of ethics in every class I had, day one when the class started. I knew someone that was doing something illegal (I think downloading something) and he got kicked out of school because of it.

And the fact that they didn't know they were doing anything illegal, is very scary, and says something about their charcter.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I wonder how long it will be before the company revises the attendance policy to include that "calling" in sick must be by telephone only. Ha! I laugh when I see some policies because you know it's in there because someone has done the ridiculous thing.

 

[wendy darling]

I wonder how long it will be before the company revises the attendance policy to include that "calling" in sick must be by telephone only. Ha! I laugh when I see some policies because you know it's in there because someone has done the ridiculous thing.

Very true.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I would have kicked them out of school and failed them in your class. I cannot tolerate illegal acts. If I were a professor or dean of the college/university, I would have had a big smile on my face while filling out the paperwork to kick them out of the program.
Because if they are doing this, who's to say they haven't done other illegal acts, or cheated on papers. etc...

At my university I had to sign a code of ethics in every class I had, day one when the class started. I knew someone that was doing something illegal (I think downloading something) and he got kicked out of school because of it.

And the fact that they didn't know they were doing anything illegal, is very scary, and says something about their charcter.

I once had a professor that was completely busted for breaking the law. He was caught driving 35 in a 20mph area. The guy didn't show any remorse or have any excuse. To my amazement, the University didn't do anything to him.

In another case, I knew of some 20 year olds that were caught in possession of alcohol. The alcohol was confiscated, but that's all the University did.

Schools are just way too tolerant.

 

[wendy darling]

I once had a professor that was completely busted for breaking the law. He was caught driving 35 in a 20mph area. The guy didn't show any remorse or have any excuse. To my amazement, the University didn't do anything to him.

In another case, I knew of some 20 year olds that were caught in possession of alcohol. The alcohol was confiscated, but that's all the University did.

Schools are just way too tolerant.

breaking the law is breaking the law. especially knowly stealing your professor's login to illegally download games, movies, etc...
Why would risk your reputation for something so meaningless.

Back to OP- yes, texting to call off work is not professional. If I were the boss, that worker would not be working for very much longer.