Yet another lunch discussion

Today we had this discussion about whether managers should expect their team members to provide their personal mobile numbers and how it is related to the work ethics in India. I, for one, believe, is a matter of principle that your manager does not call you on a Saturday or after office hours unless it is of earth-shaking importance.

Of course there is always that amount of subjectivity involved in deciding what is a Priority 1 issue. I believe, in India, people quickly make the choice and call up out of office hours. So I think it is important to put the message across at a very early stage that you are not available at the beck and call of the company.

BUT it is VERY important that you do your work well while in office.

Got a forward which is related to this in some sense:
"FW: Just a piece of advice

It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on..PCs
still runnning, coffee machines still buzzing..and whose at work..Most of them?? Take a closer look.. All or most specimens are 20-something male species of the human race..look closer..again all or most of them are bachelors..and why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!! Any guesses?? lets ask one of them..Here's what he says.."Arey yaar, whatz there 2 do after goin home..idhar to net hein, AC hein, phone hein, khaana hein, coffee hein.. to jam ke khaao, jam ke piyo(burps), jam se chatting/phone karo aur thak jaane par ghar jaao...aur boss bhi kush that i am working late...(burps) aur khaane ka paisa bhi bachtaa hein."

This is the scene in most software companies and other off-shore offices. Bachelors "time-passing" during late hours in the office just bcoz they say they've nothing else to do..Now what r the consequences.. read on..."working"(for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the company culture. With bosses more than eager to provide support to those "working" late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good feedback,(oh, he's a hardworker..goes home only to change..!!) they arent helping things too..To hell with bosses who dont understand the difference between "sitting" late and "working" late!! Very soon, the managers start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours. My dear Bachelor bhaais let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family..office is no longer a prioroty, family is..and thats when the problem starts.bcoz u start having commitments at home too. For your boss, the earlier "hardworking" guy suddenly seems to become a "early leaver" even if u leave an hour after regular time..after doing the same amount of work, People leaving on time after doing ther taks for the day are labelled as work-shirkers..Girls who thankfully always leave on time are labelled as "not up to it". All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on "working" not realising that they r spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realise that they wuld have to regret at one point of time.

So bhaai log, what's the moral of the story.?? Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!! Never put in extra time unless really needed. Dont stay back un-necessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues. There are hundred other things to do in the evening.. Learn music..Learn a foreign language..Try go-karting... Get a girl friend, take her around town. And for heaven's sake net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time low(plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change.

Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: "Life's calling, where are you??" Please pass on this message to all those colleagues whom you know stay back in office for everything other than work. And please do it before leaving time, dont stay back till midnight to forward this!! "

So what do people think? Are managers justified in asking for personal mobile numbers of their employees?