Logan: Sharing Your Space At Work

(photo: Unplggd)

At some point, it is gonna happen. Unless you are someone’s manager, you will have to share a working area with someone. It could be a cubicle, it could be a workbench, maybe it’s just a counter. I don’t know about you, but it bothers me when people touch my stuff.

Crossing the Line

I’ve got myself a system, and although it doesn’t look orderly or neat to others, I know where things are. My coworkers sometimes try to “do me a favor” and “clean things up”. Then the next time they ask me for a document I had on my desk, instead of picking it up and handing it to them, I have to dig through some drawer. I’m sure you know the feeling.

In network engineering, we are sort of a hybrid between desk work and leg work (cue joke about net work). I spend some time at my desk, some time installing equipment, some time running cables, and some time in meetings. I have my own toolset for installing switches and rack mount routers. Some time ago, I came in and my ratcheting screwdriver was broken because one of my coworkers had used it on a screw that was in too tight.

Setting Boundaries

In my environment, I share a cube with two other people. Luckily for me, they are wary of my apparent mess. But I don’t just pray for good behavior. There is a natural barrier created by my coworker’s screen placement, her phone, and my own workstation that delineates where my area starts. The presence of the screen and the phone makes it impractical for her to bother my area.

It’s important when sharing a workspace to set these types of boundaries for your personal stuff, and to communicate those boundaries. If you don’t want your stuff touched or moved sans permission, try asking your coworkers to leave your stuff alone unless they ask, or at least notify you. Nothing is worse than not knowing where your tools are when you need them.

Logan posts on Mondays about Aspergers and the workplace.  Catch up on his previous columns here.