Balancing Work and Mobile Use: Should I Address a New Employee's WhatsApp Habit?

Dear All, I have noticed that one employee is always on her mobile phone chatting on WhatsApp. Is it good to monitor her or should I leave it as it is? I feel that her concentration is more on her mobile than on work, but she does complete her tasks too.

I had previously informed our HR Head, and he gave me permission to warn her from my end. I spoke to her politely, but she is not heeding the advice. As an HR professional, I seek guidance on whether I should call and discuss this issue with her, ignore it, or inform her Team Leader. She holds the role of a junior Software Developer and joined us recently, six months ago.

Thanks & Regards, Vidhya - HR

I think the time has come to seriously warn her (orally) as she has paid no heed to your earlier attempt. The continuous chit-chat distracts her as well as others in their jobs, particularly in a field like software development.

Handling Employee Mobile Usage Concerns

Did you receive any complaints from the team leader or her manager about her work? If so, you can ask the team leader or manager to call and counsel her. If there are no complaints against her work, you can let the team leader or the manager know your observation of her spending time on her mobile and ask them to advise her to desist from doing so, as the habit may catch on with others. In the first instance, put the onus on her team leader or manager.

Regards, B. Saikumar HR & Labour Relations Adviser Navi Mumbai

Team leader is the ideal person to counsel or advise her. HR can at best inform the team manager/leader about her actions and leave it to be handled at the team level, unless of course, other teams are being affected by what's up disease.