If you have a GMail account, you can use the GMail app. The messages are stored in the cloud. If you get fired or have to give the phone back and are unable to remove the app before returning it, you change your password and they can't access your account.

I have never had the issue before (8 years). The way our phone accounts are set up, and the way the internet is monitored and tracked, and other reasons, I could not access other email accounts on the phone. Now the problem has been address with my own personal phone. Unless you worked here, you woul dnot understand. :)

Sounds like they track your web and email usage like I do for my kids!!

Yes, they could. You definitely would not want to be dependent on the company email address and system. But, we're talking about accessing an independent email account on a company phone. In such a case, it really isn't tied to the company phone in any meaningful way. I can get to my Gmail (or just about any number of other providers) from any other phone or computer just as easily as the company phone. If I had a company phone, I wouldn't lose access to my personal email at all. In the event you no longer have the company phone, you could get your own in about 30 minutes and log into the email account.

If you're talking about phone numbers, it isn't much different. There is no need to spend your money on a personal phone to have a stable number. Just get a Google Voice number (free) and use that for all of your personal calls. Have it routed to the company phone and if you ever lose access to the company phone, have it routed to somewhere else.

Set things up right and save the money.