Do’s and Don’ts For the Day You’re on Call

In the unpredictable world of being on call, professionals across various industries are tethered to their phones, awaiting the call that may summon them into action. From healthcare workers and IT specialists, to customer service representatives and maintenance technicians, being on call is a routine part of the job. As medium-sized businesses navigate the complexities of managing on-call schedules for their teams, the need for efficient HR solutions becomes paramount to ensure seamless operations. Here are some tips to follow throughout your day.

• Do
  • Keep your phone nearby.

  • Scroll idly through your social media feeds, silently praying that your phone does not begin to vibrate with the call.

• Don’t
  • Make any major plans
  • Go to the gym
  • Go grocery shopping.

If your employer has not contacted you by lunch time:

• Do
  • Continue to keep your phone nearby. You’re certainly not out of the woods yet.

  • Have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch while continuing to scroll through your social media feeds.

• Don’t
  • Go out for lunch. You’ll almost certainly be called after you order but before your food arrives.
  • Make a hot lunch. That phone is bound to ring about halfway through making it, forcing you to juggle finishing lunch with getting ready for work.

For the afternoon:

• Do
  • Keep that phone nearby. They might still call. But maybe not.

  • Idly flip through channels before watching way too many episodes in a row of a home remodeling.

• Don’t
  • Allow yourself to think “maybe not.”
  • Start a critically-acclaimed movie you’ve been meaning to watch for weeks. Your work will call right at the best part, with just about 20 minutes to go so it’s not even like a semi-natural intermission point, and yet there is not enough time to finish it.

If they still haven’t called:

You might just be in the clear. Congratulations. You have successfully navigated your day on call by not doing anything especially enjoyable or productive…...and you have also not made any money…...well…dangit.

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