Inspired by Zurealsoon: phone calls at work

[Marseeya]

How often do you communicate with your SO during the day while at work/home/school, etc? Does the company mind? Do you e-mail, phone, text message, or what?

I'm in touch with my DH several times and his company doesn't mind. We e-mail back and forth several times a day and talk on the phone at least once depending on the day. He calls me from his cell when he's walking to or from meetings and such. He works 12+ hours a day, plus works from home.

 

[disykat]

When I was working (as a teacher) I never got calls at work. That was before voice mail and phones in every room. My DH currently sits at a desk with a phone right on it, so I do call occasionally - not just to chat, but to ask a question or request he stop for something on his way home, etc.

 

[hugsquared]

DH is working out of state at the moment. We call each other several times during the day due to me working 12 hours shifts and he works very odd hours right now...we have to talk when we can. I keep my cell with me (on vibrate) and if it's a bad time, I don't answer. But if I can talk, I do. I usually go into an empty room or the break room (I'm a nurse).
I will also email on occasion. The hospital I work for doesn't mind. As long as you're taking care of your patients and work is getting done, when you have a moment to take a breather, they encourage it.

 

[Talking Hands]

I work as a substitute teacher and my spouse and I will occasionally text message each other if it is important.

 

[Minniespal]

DBF works in finance and is quite often in meetings and I work as a counsellor and I'm usually with clients.

We tend to either e-mail or text message each other.

 

[Disney Ella]

One of us will call when we get in to work to make sure the other arrived safely (we both work an hour away in different directions), then I will call when I get home. We usually only talk for a few minutes.

 

[Chattyaholic]

I've never been able to understand couples that feel the need to talk to each other several times a day when they are AT WORK

It would drive me nuts to have DH calling me all the time, and I know it would be the same for him if I was doing the calling. We see each other every day, anything we want to talk about we do on our own time, unless of course it is an emergency.

 

[bicker]

My wife and I ping each other (using her company's instant messaging product, coincidently). We're at work, not sequestered in a jury room. By dispensing with personal issues in a non-intrusive, asynchronous manner, both companies benefit from having their technical staff members unencumbered by personal distractions worrying about something until the evening, something which can be easily dispensed with and out-of-mind within the course of 20-25 seconds.

Besides that, my wife asks me technical questions about her job quite often, and the other product line in my company has availed themselves of my wife's expertise (through my ping-connection to her) on occasion, in the past, as well.

It is sure rare to find a win-win-win-win scenario.

 

[Mrs.D]

I let him know when I am arriving at work, and let him know when I am leaving work. I could then go the whole day without calling him, but he likes for me to call him during the day also.

 

[Zurealsoon]

My kids might very occasionally text message my cell phone. DH only calls (my cell) if he is out of town and needs me to stop at FedEx or something.

Unless there is something going on, like a sick kid, I really can't see the need to talk to your spouse during working hours.

 

[eeyore kelly]

Dh and I text each other throughout the day, and we may talk on his lunch hour

 

[Marseeya]

My kids might very occasionally text message my cell phone. DH only calls (my cell) if he is out of town and needs me to stop at FedEx or something.

Unless there is something going on, like a sick kid, I really can't see the need to talk to your spouse during working hours.

I could say the same thing for work contacting him during his time off.

I won't complain about it if they won't.

 

[binny]

dh and I speak several times a day. We both have jobs that give us freedom though. DH is in sales and is often on his way to a call or is just cleaning something up. He answers if he can and doesnt if he cant, same thing with me. He calls several times a day, I work form home so unless Im on with a supplier or in the middle of dealing with a client I pick up and we talk.
Again, we both have jobs that allow us a lot of freedom.


I guess I dont see the big deal.

 

[Amapola]

It's not a big deal if you and your SO have private office space, or are calling from the car, but imagine sitting 3 feet from your coworker who gets 5-10 personal calls a day on her cell phone from her mother, who babysits her 2 kids, or her DH, or her MIL, or her SIL, or who knows who else. I can't help but hear her end of the conversation (remember, she's 3 feet away) and it's seldom an emergency -- it's almost always just chatting. I've spoken to her about it, to no avail. And management does nothing at all either.

DH and I exchange emails sometimes if we need to ask something, or a phone call if it's urgent. But I figure I'm not paid to chat with my DH about what color to paint the living room walls or what movie is on TV tonigh

 

[delilah]

I hear from my husband at work rarely enough that I get an anxiety attack whenever he calls, unless I have left a message on his voicemail to call me. We are both hard to reach by phone during the day. He is a research chemist, and I am a doctor, so, neither of us spend much time sitting at a desk.

 

[binny]

this is true, if dh or I were around other people it would be different. But since were both on our own most of the day were free to do whatever

 

[olena]

We check in with each other once a day. Sometimes there's something to report and other times he gets sent on an errand on the way home. I never chat with him. Who knows who's listening? So we keep it brief and are never really explicit about important things.

What I'd like to know is how much telemarketing do y'all get at work? Business phone numbers aren't eligible for the Do Not Call List. We have a business line because of our web and email servers and we get a few to ask about home improvements. Do other business lines get this nonsense? At least the credit card point-of-sale machine vendors are leaving us alone now. We also get accounting firms calling us about managing our 'business'. I have to spend 10 minutes explaining that it is possible to have business phone and not be a business. One lady said we needed a business license and threatened to "report us".....

 

[hugsquared]

I guess it also depends on the the work situation. Some people are tied up in meetings or constantly surrounded by other people. I have a lot more freedom in my work place. And as I said, I don't have the luxury of seeing my DH every night when I get home. I go 2-3 weeks at a time without him home so we talk when we get the chance. I'm fortunate to work for a place that values family. I think the people I work with have also shown a dedication to the people we serve. There are never times that a patient would be neglected or work that goes undone because of personal interferences. We're all adults and are treated as such. And that means that on my breaks or when time permits I want to talk to my husband who I haven't seen for a while, then I get to without having to worry about the "company" peering over my shoulder. And I will never feel guilty for it because I do my job and I do it well.

 

[aprilgail2]

NEVER....I don't like getting calls at work...I don't care who they are I don't want them calling me at work....I see people at home the whole evening and before work, I dont need to talk to them at work too...

 

[pearlieq]

DH and I talk on average twice a day--once during the day either to get information (Did you pay the ComEd bill? What time is that meeting tonight?) or to say hi, and once at the end of the day to do the "I'm on my way home, what are we doing for dinner" thing. I should add that both DH and I have office-type jobs and we manage our own daily schedules.

As for why we talk during the day, sometimes we need to exchange info, but basically it's because we love each other and it gives us both a lift to hear from each other during the day. It's really not that hard to understand.