Alice Van Ness is a yoga instructor who was hired by a third-party vendor to teach on-site classes at Facebook’s Menlo Park, Calif., campus. Alice has a policy of having full concentration in her class and not letting her students get distracted by their cellphones. The most obvious reason we could think of is simply because a cellphone can be rather distracting, not just to the individual who is using it, but to the rest of the class too. Yoga involves relaxation and it is unlikely that one will be able to relax with distractions.
Hence, when Alice spotted one of the students using a cellphone, she made it clear that all phones should be turned off. Awhile later when she was illustrating a challenging pose, she realised that the same employee was using the phone again to text. Alice understandably got irritated by the act and gave the employee a glare. Upon seeing the unhappy face of the instructor, the student stepped out of the class to complete her text message. After the incident, Alice received a termination letter from the company.
Based on the description of the letter, Alice has already been informed on not to enforce a cellphone ban. “We are in the business of providing great customer service. Unless a client requires us to specifically say ‘no’ to something, we prefer to say ‘yes’ whenever possible,” this was written in the termination letter. A company spokesman also mentioned that it wasn’t uncommon for companies, who provide onsite classes, to allow their workers to use their cellphones. If Alice had already been told of this, then it would be her mistake for trying to enforce them to switch off their phones during her class. For the full story, check it out here.
Should Alice have been given a second chance? What are your opinions of this issue? It wasn’t exactly wrong of her to do what she did. She was just trying to get the class to focus on what they were there for and not to let work interfere with their practice. As we mentioned earlier, yoga is about relaxation. If you are already attempting to learn or do a more elaborated pose, then having to deal with work over the phone doesn’t help further in working to your favour. At OMG Yoga, we conduct private classes at the comfort of your home. Private classes also enables you to learn at your own pace, providing a more fulfilling experience. For more information, please do check out our website.