I have a close friend. He's on his cell phone all the time, and yet he has the sort of relationship with it that one might have with a sworn enemy or an extremely bitter ex-spouse. He curses it, throws it, and often misplaces it just for spite. Its keypad is worn to nubs. It drops calls, has a battery life of up to several minutes, and can only occasionally receive (but never send) text messages. All in all, it's one of the worst cell phones imaginable.

Why doesn't he just get a new one? Because it's not his to replace. His cell phone was bought and paid for by his employer, and he's required to carry around this outdated device for his job. That might not be so bad by itself, even if the phone does look like it went out of style sometime during the Eisenhower administration -- but, to add to his woes, he also uses it as his personal phone.

Convenience and Necessity

Many employers give out cell phones to their employees, in order to stay in contact and make work communication more flexible. As a result, many people who might not otherwise have a cell phone now find themselves in possession of one. At first glance, it's hard to complain about a free phone -- beyond the unwanted after-hours work call, of course. On the other hand, a work-sponsored phone can sometimes be a bit of a hassle if co-opted into personal use.

Consider the sad case my aforementioned friend, who has spent years making both work and personal calls on his cell phone. Not only does he hate his phone like fire, but, due to a change in his employer's policies, he now has to go over his monthly bill and itemize it, separating the personal calls from the business calls. While few people want to be the guy walking down the street with a phone in each hand, barking into two handsets and blocking traffic, even fewer want to be up at two in the morning sweating over their wireless bill because they have to justify their airtime.

In such circumstances, wouldn't it be easier just to get your own?

Options and Alternatives

Granted, you may be one of the lucky ones, whose employer not only pays for your phone, but gave you a nice, shiny new phone to boot, instead of merely the least expensive one they could find. Perhaps they don't even mind if you make personal calls. If you are such a person, rejoice in your good fortune and think no more of it. On the other hand, if you're more like my poor associate with his archaeological curiosity of a cell phone, you might want to consider springing for your own.

The advantages of having your own cell phone are innumerable: you'll have your own number, which won't change if you change jobs. You won't suddenly find yourself without a cell phone if your employment situation changes. Most of all, you can pick a phone that's right for you. Such a proposition doesn't have to be expensive. If you have an intense dislike for obligation, many prepaid cell phone plans come with an inexpensive phone. If, on the other hand, you're looking for something more long-term, many cell phone carriers offer more feature-rich phones with a new contract.

Granted, having two phones may seem a tad excessive at first. But think of the freedom. Think of that shiny new phone of your choosing, with a real camera and an mp3 player, resplendent in its decadent consumer-electronics goodness. Most of all, think of yourself, itemizing your bill and explaining that forty-minute chat with your friends upstate to your employer. That should motivate you.