Crafting a cell phone agreement can be a powerful way to help us and those we care about pause and become mindful of safe and smart digital practices. The tech talk can become really important when students transition to a work setting. Considering the following, which are the most important topics to include in an agreement?
• Follow my employer’s social media guidelines
• Comment negatively about other employees.
• Complain about work or customers
• Locking the cell phone and keeping your computer gear near.
• Check privacy settings.
• Digital curfew
• Sharing passwords.
• Behavior now and job opportunities later
• Telling my parents if cyberbullied.
• Texting and driving
• Don’t bully anyone.
• Don’t meet strangers offline who I only met online
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If we are focusing solely on students transitioning into work, I feel like the most important things to include in a tech agreement are:
– Following the employer’s social media guidelines
– Not commenting negatively about other employees
– Not Complaining about customers
– Behavior now and job opportunities later
The reason I feel that these are the MOST important in this case is because this is the start of the kids getting into the work force. It is a whole new world from what they have experienced before. These things were not applicable to them before and were likely never addressed (with the exception of Behavior now and job opportunities later…They have probably heard that since elementary school; chances are it didn’t mean anything to them before now, though), so it is important to make sure they hear (truly hear) and understand these things now.
I would say keeping your gear near; but that might not be something that is allowed at the job they are going to.
I do have a question about these tech agreements, though. Should there be follow up steps included- like some plan for how the adults involved will follow up regularly to make sure all of these things are still happening and make necessary adjustments? I feel like the agreements are good, but what happens after? Is it just to be used as a reminder? as a tool for punishment if someone does/does not do something that the agreement addresses? etc.?
My topics are similar to what Leslie has mentioned so far. These things will be vital in helping students transition to work.
1. Follow my employer’s social media guidelines.
2. Comment negatively about other employees.
3. Complain about work or customers.
4. Locking the cell phone and keeping your computer gear near.
5. Behavior now and job opportunities later.
6. Don’t bully anyone.
The one-three will impact not only the student as the employee, but also the employer and the potential business outcome. The four and five are ways the employee can personally protect themselves while working. Number six is something that needs to happen towards anyone around you (boss, co-workers, etc.).
If all employers worked to put this in place, a lot of issues with teens (and adults) could be limited or eliminated!
If you are considering the most important topics for transitioning into a work setting I agree with Leslie. The following seem to mostly be related to the work atmosphere.
• Follow my employer’s social media guidelines
• Comment negatively about other employees.
• Complain about work or customers
• Behavior now and job opportunities later
If students are at their job site or at home these absolutely apply. I also think what are the consequences for not following these. The consequence for all of these I would think would think would be the loss of the job and maybe even future jobs. It might also have negative consequences on the places of their work and could potentially lose business depending on what students say and who sees it. At times students don’t seem to know that their audience often extends past the people they know. I would think that employers would go over their guidelines at employee training, but it might be within a lot of other information. At times students don’t directly relate it to what it means to them and know the consequences.
Locking the cell phone and keeping your computer gear near. Depending on where they are employed this locking the cell phone and keeping your computer gear near could the opposite and they shouldn’t have it near, but locked away somewhere safe. Students should also know that during their job they should not have their phones near. I’ve seen too many times that employees are on their phones at inappropriate times. This could also be a means of dismissal from their job.
All of these topics are important when creating a tech agreement.
I also agree with Leslie, Brittany and Katrina. For our students transitioning to work,
(#1 Following my employers social media guidelines) is one of the most important topics to include. #2 and #3 below may be imbedded in an employer’s guidelines as it could lead to negativity in the workplace, harassment and loss of business .
(#2 Comment negatively about other employees)
(#3 Complain about work/customers)
Two other topics:
#10 texting and driving
#12 Don’t meet strangers offline who I only met online
are extremely important safety measures for any student of any age…working or not. Placing oneself in potentially dangerous situations could lead to potentially deadly results. Tweens and teens need to think past the phrase “this can’t happen to me”…
All of these are important, but since the prompt focused specifically on the transition to work, I would say that these are my top 4 essential picks:
1. Follow my employer’s social media guidelines
2. Comment negatively about other employees.
3. Complain about work or customers
4. Locking the cell phone and keeping your computer gear near.
I will say that I am not sure many small companies have a social media guideline, so this makes it hard, especially for teenage employees. My daughter works at a neighborhood ice cream store where there are NO social media guidelines. Employees have their phones out and one male employee even roams the dining area and gets girls’ numbers who he thinks are cute!!
I think the “common sense” guidelines of #2,3,4 (above) will cover employees for the basics and should help them maintain appropriate usage while at work.
We talk a lot with our students about how we can’t control what other people do, but that we can control how we respond. Social media sites can be a dangerous place to respond. Frequent discussions about “What if…” situations may be helpful. For example, “What if you are working in retail and a customer is very rude to you. Do you go on Twitter and slam them for that? What if your boss sees that? What would he or she do?”
In the middle school setting, the students respond well to the role play discussion more than a lecture setting {Don’t do this, Don’t say that}
In looking at the provided list, the items that stood out to me were: commenting negatively about other employees, complaining about work or customers, and Behavior now and job opportunities later. These could all be effectively reinforced through some role playing activities.
The most important topic for me currently is behavior now and job opportunities later. I became aware of a serious issue regarding a post made by one of my students which will have a definite impact on him as a student and future employee. Many teens really don’t see past “right now”. As educators, we need to constantly reinforce that what you do now can and most definitely will affect your future.
All of the topics are important to discuss with students, but the most important topic is to know the employer’s social media guidelines. It is possible the guidelines are vague or non existent, so students should be aware of the other topics and abide by them to be safe. It is never a good choice to comment negatively about other employees or to complain about work or customers through social media. It certainly can destroy your rapport with your superiors at work which can lead to job loss. Locking the cell phone and keeping your computer gear near will keep others from getting into your device. This leads into another important guideline, “No sharing passwords.” That can end very badly with the wrong person if there is a falling out.
“Behavior Now and Job Opportunities Later”:
— This is by far the most important concept if taken a step further. Not only could behavior now affect future job opportunities, but it also could affect future relationship opportunities. For example, while a prospective life partner might be understanding of any still-visible, on-line photos or comments made between you and any former love (or hate) interests, would this person’s over-protective parent or child be so understanding/forgiving? (Many of our students are from broken families and understand how difficult it is to begin to feel safe and comfortable in a re-defined family. How much more difficult would the necessary establishment of trust and respect be if personal histories are littered by the careless use of technology?)
“Texting and Driving”:
—On second thought, this may be the most important. Arrive alive to you job and anywhere else.
“Digital Curfew”:
—This is a good rule of thumb for anyone, as too much time in front of a screen apparently changes neural pathways for the worse. Furthermore, it is totally anti-relational in some uses and in other uses it is at least not as fully relational as face-to-face interaction.
Students need guidance on all of the above. However, if I had to choose a few topics to focus on during the transition to work, I’d choose the following (assuming they have already secured the job):
• Follow my employer’s social media guidelines
• Comment negatively about other employees.
• Complain about work or customers
• Check privacy settings.
The above points are important for students to remember because the consequences from employers can be much more harsh than anything we can compare to in the school setting. There is an entirely new filter that students need to learn about for their own safety and job security.
Many of the other points highlighted above are important as building blocks. If teachers, counselors, and parents are talking about these important safety considerations, students will have an advantage (or at least one less thing to worry about) when it comes to digital safety in the workplace.