It’s not the easiest way but it works for me…

Make yourself irreplaceable. That’s what I did.

Retail store manager. Personal devices and headphones are a fireable offense. I allow my team cellphones as long as they get their job done. I have a single headphone with podcasts playing every moment I’m not on a conference call.

When my boss brought it up I just stared at him blankly and said “when I took over this store it was failing. Now it’s third in the district and rising” then stared blankly at him again.

He eventually stopped mentioning it.

Nondiscreetly.

When boss asks why am I looking at the phone (or browsing around on the internet), I point out they hired me as consultant, so my duty is to look around and be informed of things so I’m not caught up emptyhanded when asked a question.

You start taking more bathroom breaks.

I don’t even try to hide it anymore. My manager and I send each other memes during the work day.

Just look at it

Your boss wants to start shit when your work is getting done? Fuck them

#1 mobile data only. No wifi.

#2 have some sort of cover to look busy / stressed. Have an act ready so people don’t question what you do with your time. Keep an unfinished task on hand that you can pick up at a seconds notice.

#3 Hide in plain sight. If someone approaches your work area make it look like you were splitting your attention between the task and the phone, than without looking put your phone down/away and work on the task.

Look at your phone while sitting in the stall.

This is the post of an addict

discreetly? before being 100% work from home, i used to stream my tv with plex with my tablet on my desk. I’d usually just put one earbud in and leave the other ear to hear people if they needed me.

In highschool however (back in the late 90s) i used to listen to music from my walkman by fishing the corded earbuds from my pants pocket and in thru my sleeve. I’d hold the earbuds in my hand and the oversized hoodie sleeve would conceal everything perfectly. I’d rest my head in my hand with the earbuds and I’d look like any other student getting their work done.

I know Lemmy is gonna say “stop being addicted to your phone” but like I’m asking this question with more of a like “fuck corporate” attitude

I gained a reputation in my work as someone always glued to the phone, even when walking home. Not that I care much about what others think, but in my defense, I am trading stocks. I toned down using my phone because I got called out by my supervisor as it had affected my work performance. In my role, we have lots of downtime in between the tasks and using phone is allowed so long as we do the job properly. Anyhow, not that I mind much what they think of me because my plan for early retirement is more important than my company needs who could eventually throw you under the bus 😝 I know companies don’t always appreciate long time employees so why should I give 110%? Some people give too much to companies but not me.

I’m on a zoom call right now with camera on typing this comment on my phone lol

I just take my phone out and look at it. Most establishments won’t give a shit as long as you are still able to be productive. Being said, if its to the point where you are being called out for it, high chance it is impacting work performance. That or you have a really shit manager. I’ve gone through like 6 managers and none of them have ever cared if we occasionally looked at our phone as long as it wasn’t impacting the work environment. The only time they ever address it is when some idiot abuses it or lets it impact work performance. Then they do a workwide broadcast saying “hey remember headphones and phones during work are not allowed” but they then only punish the ones actually failing to get the job done/are actually a problem.

You could probably start taking more bathroom breaks but, that defo won’t gain you any brownie points if anyone else on the team is reliant on you and if noticed you’ll end up higher on the chopping block next time they are looking to hire someone else on, technically this is illegal in the US but, they just find another reason to terminate. If its a manager issue, then I guess just ride it out, those types of managers generally don’t last too long anyway. That or look elsewhere for employment because it sounds like you are in micromanagement hell

I look over to my cat to make sure he’s sleeping.

i work a lot with my phone, so nothing i do seems “suspicious”

we also got the attitude of “if the work gets done it doesn’t matter how you spend the rest of the day” but i think my workplace is special in that regard

step into a closet or empty room

frequent bathroom breaks

hide it inside a notebook

switch the e-reader to dark mode and place the phone over another piece of similar-looking technology that you have a plausible reason to look at