If you work in a client-facing or customer service position, then you’ve probably encountered a day or two when your work phone just wouldn’t stop ringing.
While different businesses experience different call volumes depending on their organizational work structures, an Indeed forum post from a health agency states that they must be prepared to handle 150 calls an hour for their busiest times of the day.
It’s not difficult to imagine that with a volume this high, working as an over-the-phone customer service representative can get really repetitive, really fast.
And while TikToker Legzeii (@legzeii) didn’t share how many calls he fields in a day at his job, it appears it’s enough to get him to unplug his phone for the last 30 minutes of his shift so that he could relax for a bit before he leaves.
@legzeii i cant change the workd in 30mins #legzeii #officelife #work #9to5 #corporate ♬ original sound – Legzeii
Legzeii pens in a text overlay of a viral video revealing his “office hack” of sorts, “Me trying to get some peace and quiet for the last 30 mins of my shift.”
He provides an explanation for his decision to unhook the phone towards the end of his work day, writing in a caption, “I can’t change the [world] in 30 mins.”
It doesn’t look like he’s alone when it comes to engaging in this practice—several other individuals professed their own proclivity towards pulling the plug while on the job.
“l remember l used to do that then my boss will come straight to our office and say why is your phone not working,” a person wrote. “l was [caught] one day.”
Someone else shared another trick for getting out of being stuck on the phone, writing, “I used to answer calls like ‘thank you for calling how can I direct your call’ knowing they are supposed to be talking to me.”
Another TikToker relayed the time they thought it was strange no customers came into their business for the last hour of their shift. As it turns out, their coworker had something to do with that.
“I will never forget the night we didn’t have a customer for the last hour & it turned out my associate locked the door I was like girl Omg you cant,” they said.
User @emilysnapka thought of another way to avoid calls while at work—turning the volume entirely down on their handset and then manually deleting the missed calls that came in, presumably to cover one’s tracks.
If you hate answering the phone while at work, this iHeartRadio piece suggests that there are indeed plenty of people who share your same receiver ire. The outlet reported that surveys indicate “77 percent of employees…say they’d rather email or use instant messaging as phone calls can be ‘confrontational’ and ‘aggressive.’”
It could be that the dislike the TikToker and others have for receiving phone calls at work could be generationally rooted—a variety of different outlets cited how Millennials and Gen-Z’ers have an aversion towards speaking on the phone.
