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Comment by arethuza | Hacker News Reader

Reminds me of the time I phoned my wife about something unimportant and she'd forgotten to put her phone on silent.

She was in court, taking evidence from a witness. The judge didn't take it too badly - but it was quite embarrassing for her!

Of course people value their partners - but always taking a call no matter what. That sounds plain silly (and possibly rather rude) to me.

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Agree. My wife and I have a protocol worked out. I can ignore any call if I need to. If it's an emergency, she will call again immediately, and that means I'd better answer it.

Exactly, in the age of cell phones with caller ID this is simple to solve.

We have a similar situation worked out during work hours. If it is unimportant, text. If it is slightly more important, call. If it is an emergency call and leave a voicemail. If I have a voicemail or two calls in a row I'm leaving wherever I am no matter what. If I have a missed call I'm calling back when its done and nobody in the room is any wiser that I wasn't 100% focused on them.

Nothing works for everyone and every situation. If you were a brain surgeon, for example, you'd truly be in a situation where you couldn't drop everything to take a call, not matter how important. Your example of your wife is also a good one. But most of us don't have that kind of circumstance. Most people could prioritize thier families above everyone else, but choose not to.

For myself, I'm not a lawyer or a surgeon, just an IT guy, but I'm proud to say I have walked out of meetings to answer a call from my wife.

I can think of a lot of occupation where complete availability during work hours wouldn't be appropriate: police, ambulance, armed forces, serving staff in shops or restaurants, industrial plant operators, pilots, train drivers....

Not that these folks are going to have some times when direct incoming personal calls will be OK - but all the time, no way!

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