Many years ago, my husband James worked for a company that insisted that all programmers wear ties. He regarded this rule as completely stupid because no one ever SAW these nerds tucked away in their little cubicles coding merrily away.
Every morning, as he put in his tie, James would grump about having to put on his "slave collar." To him, wearing that tie for no good reason was symbolic of all the unreasonable rules enforced by mindless corporate drones. (It’s easy to see why he was destined to be self-employed.)
I say that companies that force programmers and other white-collar workers to wear cell phones is just as offensive for many of the same reasons. To me, the cell phone has become the slave collar of the new millennium.
Certain people should definitely be accessible 24×7. If you have chosen to be a doctor or any type of emergency worker, naturally, you expect to be on call. We’re talking life or death situations. These people wear pagers and cell phones everywhere for good reason.
However, when you get a job as a programmer, you’re not thinking, "gee there might be a programming emergency." Yet, increasingly, corporations expect staff to essentially give over their entire life to the company. People’s private lives are no longer private. Some people barely even HAVE a life outside of work.
Forcing people to be on call for things like "programming emergencies" is bad not only for employees, but their families as well. Programmers and other tech workers deserve to have time with their families, watch their kids grow up, enjoy hobbies, and other activities outside of work. Code is not life or death (unless maybe you work for a hospital).
I’m sorry, but when your job starts having a negative effect on your family life, it’s time to get out. Any company that expects you to prioritize work above family is not a company you want to work for anyway.