To have 1 cellphone or 2, that is the question.
Your employer offers you a “free” cellphone for work purposes. Do you combine your work and personal phone into 1 phone or do you keep 2? 1 for work and 1 for personal use.
I have always had 2 phones and most of the time, I love it because I find it “cleaner”. I hope the list of pros and cons below help you weigh your options and make a decision on whether to have 1 phone or 2. Here are the reasons why I like having 2 phones rather than 1:
Pros of having 2 phones
- I am in control of when I check my work phone on evenings and weekends. I can take a break from my work phone without being “phoneless” because I still have my personal phone that I actually want to check and that allows me to communicate with my family and friends, check my money on the Mint app , and see my personal calendar.
- On vacation, I am in control of when I check my phones. Normally, I will leave my work phone in the security box in the hotel room and check it as needed. This way, it’s not on my person, and I don’t feel tempted to check it while I am out and about exploring while on vacation.
- No risk of mistakenly sending a text or email to a professional contact. Have you ever sent a text to your mom or dad that was supposed to go to your significant other? Well, I have, and I wouldn’t want to make that mistake with a professional contact. Having 2 phones minimizes this risk (except when a professional contact is also a personal contact).
- Having 2 phones allows me to keep some things private from my employer. I can look up things on my personal phone that I wouldn’t want showing up on the work phone browser history. No, not inappropriate websites. I am thinking of searches along the lines of “anxiety”, “panic attack”, and “signs and symptoms of pregnancy”. I would rather keep these searches private than have my employer know my private searches.
- Cleaner if you decide to pursue another career opportunity.
Cons of having 2 phones
- The cost. I pay my own cellphone bill monthly (which is an outrageous $85) and when I go on vacation I have to pay to put a data plan on my phone. If I don’t put data on my phone, I have to make the choice as to whether or not to take my work phone everywhere with me while I’m on vacation, which has a data plan but then defeats the pro I listed above.
- You have to carry around 2 phones with you. Carrying around 2 phones can be heavy, bulky and just another thing you have to remember before you leave the house and when you are travelling. This is pretty much habit for me now, but there are times when I have left one of the phones behind on a bus or forgotten 1 of the phones at home.
- You have to remember to charge 2 phones. One of my phones is an iPhone and the other is a Samsung, so I have 2 chargers that I have to remember to pack when I travel, 2 chargers that I have to keep plugged in at the house and 2 phones that I need to keep charged.
Recap
If it were up to me, I’d recommend having 2 phones. But, whatever you decide to do, consider your lifestyle and pick the option that best suits you.