I am a public school teacher and struggling to set boundaries with my employer expecting me to use my personal phone for work.
Quick summary of the events:
I started teaching at this school in November and was required to download two apps which generate two-factor authentication codes for my work accounts and the school discipline software. It was my first day and I really didn't think about saying, “No” even though I really wish I had.
In early January I was asked to start making phone calls to families on my personal phone. I told my manager I am not comfortable making calls from my personal number and unfortunately I already use my Google Voice number for a small business. My manager has not responded to that email OR my follow up email. My school does not have a phone available for me to use.
I was asked by another faculty member to let a student use my phone to call home. I wasn't comfortable with it however felt like I couldn't say no in the moment. The parent then called my phone back repeatedly for hours despite me clearly telling her I am not her child's teacher and the student was not with me. It was after 9:00PM!!!!
Today I was told to download a school safety app that allows them to know my location data. NOPE! Hell no! Not happening.
My concerns:
I fundamentally think it is resource theft to expect me to use my personal phone for work. I am not allowed to use my work computer for personal reasons and I follow that rule. They owe me the same courtesy.
My phone is garbage and I have very little space, I don't have room to add more apps without needing to increase my iCloudStorage for a monthly fee.
I do not want families to have my personal number because I do not want to be contacted when I am not working.
I have disabled location services for all apps on my phone except Maps. I am not allowing my workplace to put a location tracking app on my personal phone.
Possible Resolutions:
My preference would be that the school provides me with a work phone. This is the option that resolves my concerns about location tracking. I highly doubt my administration will be on board.
Second best is providing a stipend for being forced to use my phone. However it doesn't address my concerns about sharing my phone number or sharing location services.
I'm going to discuss this with my union representative, but I'm very anxious. If you have any sentence starters or suggestions for how I can approach this topic it would be really helpful. I have pretty high anxiety about setting workplace boundaries and want to make sure I approach it appropriately.