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01via Vitaly Gariev
Image depicted solely for explanatory purposes.
A person touches their white smart watch on their wrist -
Got written up as a “no call no show” because the shift change was only posted in the app
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I work part time at the front desk of a small clinic, almost two years now. Every Sunday the manager sent the schedule for the whole team in a group text, and there was also a printout in the break room. My days were almost always Thursday/Friday, so I just checked the text to see if anything changed for me.
Last month they moved the schedule to an app. My manager mentioned it at the end of a shift, but nobody said the texts and the printout would stop. My days stayed the same for the whole month, so I didn’t notice that anything was missing.
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02via Christian Erfurt
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
A man covers his eyes with his hands at a couch, frustrated -
I couldn’t install the app anyway. My phone is an old hand me down, and the store says the app doesn’t support my system version. A lot of apps don’t work on it, so I use websites for most things, even chesscom, biggerz etc., I play in the browser. Two weeks ago my Thursday shift was moved to Wednesday. The change went out in the app on Monday night. I don’t work Monday or Tuesday, so nobody told me in person. I found out when my manager called me on Wednesday and asked where I was. Now I have a write-up for no call no show. I asked how I was supposed to know, and she said checking the app is part of the job now.
I asked if they would give me a device for it, and she laughed.Later I found out the app also has a web login.
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Nobody told us about it, and the web version doesn’t send notifications, so I would have to log in every day to check for changes.
I don’t think my personal phone should be a job requirement, especially when the app is the only place they post changes.
Is a write-up fair when the change was posted only in the app, and if you pushed back on something like this, did it go anywhere, or did you end up buying a new phone?
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This is failure of managers to do the thing they're supposed to, manage.
While you bear responsibilities, they are the ones who should be informing people of changes. When I was a manager in retail I always made sure everyone was in the know about scheduling changes.
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Everyone who has ever worked a job knows that a “no call, no show” is one of the worst moves you can pull if you want to keep your job. Especially in the service industry. Communication is key, and it doesn't always stop you from getting in trouble, but it can definitely help. But communication goes both ways. The employee has to communicate their needs and their schedule, but it's also the manager's job to make sure everyone is informed of expectations. If nobody made the expectations clear, then they can't be blamed for not being able to follow through on them. That's what was happening here.
I personally have a strong distaste for managers who expect you to read their minds. They have very clear expectations, but they don't communicate them clearly. Then they punish you for not being able to fill in the cracks automatically. If everyone were upfront and communicative with what they needed from each other, then so much suffering could be spared. Miscommunications happen sometimes, though, and nobody is to blame. But what's frustrating is when someone ends up paying the price for someone else's mistake. The world is not always a just place, but we should speak up when that kind of thing happens, especially in our own workplace. That's what this employee was trying to do, but her boss was making that pretty difficult. Her job looked like it was going to be in trouble, and she wanted to avoid the chopping block as best she could. So she reached out to the internet for a little bit of advice about the situation. Keep reading to see what happened here and let us know what you think about it.
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03via Jonas Leupe
Individual pictured is a model used for illustrative purposes.
A man uses his smart phone in his hands -
04via Rifki Kurniawan
Image shown for illustrative purposes; person depicted is a model.
A frustrated man puts his hands to his head at his desk -
There should be a deadline for when changes are made, you should not have to check every day. If the schedule goes up Sunday night then any changes after that schedule need to be communicated to you directly. This is BASIC for shift work.
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Three of us at my old job got that write-up the first month after an app switch. HR removed all three because nobody had been told the texts would stop.
The manager could not give a date when she announced it.
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If they want you to login to an app or a website, they must provide a means to do so. Don't do anything for work on personal devices.
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I take it you are not in a union.
If they won't remove it, ask for a grievance letter to be placed with your file and you can explain everything as you did here. They should at least allow your side to be heard, if it ever comes to that. NO, your workplace cannot make owning a newer phone a requirement, but they should have told you a web access exists. They were a lot more negligent than you were.
Did you ultimate go in to work after your boss called? If so, they REALLY ought to remove that citation. In the last two years did you even miss a shift without informing them?
However, one write up like this won't destroy your career, these things happen and even employers know that, but at minimum if they respect you and the work you have done of the last 2 years, they should allow you to include a grievance letter in your file. If they don't, well, now you know the "people" you work for.
Personally, I would start shopping around for a job where you'll be properly respected, but that choice is your own.
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