I worked a gig (prepandemic) where we sat, analyzing evidence for litigation, for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. You had to be a law school grad or barred attorney to get the gig. Every other gig, we could listen to music, have conversation, eat at our desks, take a call if necessary, etc.
Not this gig. No phones allowed to be visible. No headphones. No talking. No eating at the desk.
My wife was 7 months pregnant, after having miscarried her previous pregnancy. Every issue might have been a major issue. Plus she had a cold. So if she texted me, I needed to check it.
My phone buzzed, so I slightly pulled it halfway out of my pocket, saw it wasn't a problem text from my wife, and put it away. A manager, who I had not met, walked up behind me.
Manager: What was that?
Me: I'm sorry?
Manager
Me: Nothing. Or you mean my cell phone?
Manager: Yeah, that's what it was. You know the policy, right? You can't have your cell phone out in the office.
Me: Well, my wife is 7 months into a high risk pregnancy. I'm going to check if it buzzes to make sure it's not her. And I'm not going to leave the office and go out to the elevators just to find out it's not her texting me. I pulled it out, saw it wasn't her, and put it away. If it was her, I would go out of the office to call her back.
The manager starts in on “the rules” and how I can have a “refresher course” on them if I need them. I told him that I graduated from 5th grade a few decades ago, and that's the last time I was treated like a child. I informed him that I prefer to be treated like an adult, and since they obviously couldn't treat any of the 50 of us who had doctorate degrees like thy adults we were, I was leaving.
I had a new gig by Monday (and was promoted to management in that gig within a few weeks) and never had to work for that jackass or that ridiculous lawfirm again.