Published on 12, July, 2020
Smartphones these days seem to be a requirement in order to be a human being.
My work are requiring me to download an app which I can't and won't do. I was asked a few years ago to become part of a work whatsapp group. I was indirectly made to feel I wasn't part of the team bease i couldnt and didnt want to be in it. Last night, instead of looking my name up on a computer for a ticket, a "box office assistant" made the person I was with re-download an app to get an e-ticket with an animated barcode. I know my stubbornness is making me technologically illiterate but I don't care.
We started becoming machines during the industrial revolution. Today we continue to advance toward this. It's part of our evolution as we get further away from who we were.
Unless there is something very specific in your contract, I doubt your employer can legally require you to download an app on your personal phone ... If your employer wants you to use a mobile device for work, they should supply one. [ Disclaimer: This is not legal advice - If it is an issue, I suggest you contact your union or take qualified advice.]
What annoys me is that one cannot even log into a banking website or make a credit card payment online without having to have a "verification" message sent to a mobile. My view is that it is what it says, (a) mobile, and (b) a phone. A device I use to make phone calls when I am not at home. It is useful to be able to read my email and access my diary and shopping list on the go, and Google Maps and the bus timetable are helpful. But I resent the expectation that one has a device permanently about one's person to suit somebody else's agenda.
There is a lot of good will on our part as staff but i have got around the mentioned problem...it seems others havent questioned it. I agree with the rest of your comments too.