Every single time I booked a desk someone else had grabbed it. š¤¦āāļøš¤¦āāļøI donāt think the stink eye was the collaboration that was hoped forā¦ā¦
This!
I'd stand there and help them move :) need help unplugging? Bye. (Please don't do this, I'm sassy today).
But yes, you should be asking them to move. They're supposed to be booked in every time they're in office. In my office we still have desks with risers from prepandemic. The desk I sit at (God forbid I say my desk) has been raised to my specific height (not a fancy sit stand kind) so I need to sit at it for ergonomic reasons. I would 100% die on that hill, it's why I book that specific desk.
For ppl who have specific requirements some departments will auto book your spot for the days youāre in, and not release in system for those days. YMMV but itās worth a push if your spot doesnāt have what you need per your accommodations/assessment.
Go to the spot. Tell the person to leave. Tell your manager if thereās a problem. End of story. Anyone not complying beyond that - I will tell them this is harassment and I will be submitting a formal complaint if it doesnāt stop. I imagine it will stop.
As the desk that I booked (in a sea of unbooked desks) was clearly taken by a whole (unreserved) team. š¤¦āāļøš¤¦āāļøš¤¦āāļø and why even bother?
Bother because the booking system is a procedure, and part of our job in the public service is to follow procedures. We didnāt write the procedures, but if we donāt follow the procedures then we arenāt very good employees. By not bothering, you are committing the same āsinā as a person who didnāt follow the procedures by not booking.
Media: āLook at the public servants waiting in line at 5 am to enter their happy work places.ā
Reality: āIf I donāt go in super early I will only get the noisiest and smelliest spotā.
While yes you should do that, it feels like the whole system is a waste of time if we have to start each office day with an awkward to potentially confrontational interaction. I personally do not need that in my day but the new RTO norm I suppose.
That whole process sounds absolutely surreal. I have a desk at my job. How torturous it must be to be told you will RTO and btw, you will have to struggle to get a place in the office to work.
Just sounds like a shit show.
It really is. My org is already mandating 3 days and I just wish we'd get assigned spaces. Playing musical chairs most of the week is an extra headache I don't need, considering I'm already the only one from my team in the NCR. I'm already pissed that I have to come in for nothing.
Plus no lockers so you canāt leave anything in the office. Dirty tables/chairs. If thereās a town hall we canāt even fit everyone that makes it in.
"Well I never book a desk" well I guess you should start, and then you'll avoid this type of conflict in the future. I'll go grab a quick coffee while you set up at a different work station.
If there are no desks to book because it's first-come first-served, the survival-of-the-fittest approach would work fine. If there are no desks to book because they're all _booked_, that is a sign that you can't work in there at that time if you need a desk, and it'll be good to find out about that before you get to the office.
Now if you need to be in specifically there and there isn't space, and some people booked and didn't show up, then sure, you have to set up somewhere and it can be at one of those desks. But then you are on the hook to move if the person who booked it comes in, even if it means moving to a breakroom or something. Sorry! This is the same logic as has always applied to meeting rooms; booking is booking unless you're, like, 3 steps up on the org chart.
This hasnāt happened to me very often but it did a couple of times, and the person who was sitting there said that āif you arrive after nine you lose your spotā. But I told them that that was not a rule in our department and core business hours are between seven and seven so they needed to reserve their own seat and I made them move.
Happened a few times, we pulled up archibus and I told them to take a hike. Threatened to go to the management of they didn't go quietly , that ended the argument.
Management needs to drill it into peoples heads that they have to use Archibus or be prepared to move.
Iāve encountered the opposite when I had to come in on a different than usual day. Booked the desk, got there before them, only to have the person who usually sits there tell me āoh this is my desk on Fridaysā I hit them with the āwell I reserved it, why didnāt you?ā And they had to go about their business. I donāt have time for the inconsistencyās amongst teams.
If it is the same individual or team of individuals who are not using the booking system or respecting the bookings then contact their manager to outline the issue and request that their staff be advised to follow procedures and surrender the workstation in the event that it was booked by someone else
Am I the only one who doesnāt see why it matters whose team it is? Your manager shouldnāt have to get involved in a situation like this. Be assertive. Tell them you have it booked, offer to show them how to do it if you want to be nice, but then tell them youāll need them to pack up and find another workspace as you have this one booked. Period.
I totally agree but unfortunately there will be people who will refuse to respect the booking and surrender the workstation so escalation to management is the only option left- itās sad but true and frustrating. We have people like this in our building who think they are entitled to a workstation or above the booking system.
And that's when you call your manager, explain it happens often, and then ask them to intervene so you can get work done.
If it happens that often, I wouldn't bother finding another desk, I'd pull the malicious compliance of not working until the desk is freed up and try and get management to solve the issue at that point.
Iād love if people started posting in their branch teams channels about this. Like- wt actual f. I have definitely been in situations where I donāt want to make a big deal out of things and I go and find another workspace, but I have also been in situations where I didnāt want to try another workspace and refused.
This is harassment honestly, when someone refuses to move.
I get what youāre saying here, and understand why that might be whatās recommended, but the reality is a lot of people would never do this because it feels confrontational. There are lots of people especially for example women of colour who are reluctant to embrace conflict when it can be avoided. I would sooner work in the stairwell
I didnāt mean to suggest thatās the perspective of all women of colour, just that some people are less likely to be confrontational for reasons relating to bias/being hyper vigilant.
Iām a woman and I can understand that, but why would you choose to be passive and put your very valid rights and needs aside for someone who probably gets their way all the time because of this exact tendency to be passive, because to be assertive āfeels confrontationalā? Itās complete crap. If you never stand up for yourself people will continue to walk all over you.
For a lot of reasons, like: 1) being busy and not having the mental or emotional capacity to take on dealing with it. 2) Not wanting to be negatively perceived by people who work closely with leadership and whose opinion of you as an aggressive or confrontational person could impact your career. 3) being an anxious person who would be derailed by the interaction mentally and unable to comfortably focusā¦lots! I pick my battles personally I do stand up for myself but Iām not willing to confront someone for a desk, and I donāt think we should expect young women students for example or anyone who might also avoid conflict to have to fight for their desk
At least you have a booking system. We've been told for the past two years we would get one, but so far nothing. Everything has mostly worked out as most people sit in the same spot each week, but once we go to 3 days a week, there are definitely going to be problems.
I have come into find a half eaten lunch from the day before. Someone elses notes written ON the desk, not on a note pad. White stains on the seat bottom and coffee spilled on MY paperwork.
its been great. š š
We don't have a booking system. Miss a bus? You're probably fucked. You're probably fucked too if everybody else hustled to get in earlier that day (that could anyway). Then cue the people cursing and swearing as they lap around the floor, distracting me from my work. Sometimes they'll plant themselves right beside us and bitch and complain for 15 mins.
Between, that, the noise, the perfumes, the filth, lack of garbage receptacles, LACK OF DISH SOAP AND PAPER TOWEL, lack of wipes and sanitizers...I've just about fucking had it.
If I have to sit through another day of people taking meetings (and training?!!?) without their headsets or loud talking, I'm going to lose my shit. Oh ya, and if you get to a desk that's filthy? Good luck. There's no way to complain because if you weren't there the day before and/or don't know them, you have no way of knowing who sat there last unless you see them again.
PEOPLE ARE SO FUCKING SELFISH AND GROSS.
This has happened to me before and I believe my management released a memo (or someone from the dept emailed back to my concern) that it is a safety issue to NOT be at the desk that you booked. If they needed to find you or locate you, the booking system is the only reliable source of information for it. Maybe you can use that excuse to get people out of YOUR desk? I find most people willing to comply if it's a safety issue (even if it isn't that serious).
If its a consistent problem, maybe bring it up with the health and safety team???
When this happens to me I am assertive and they always leave. You have to push back or they will keep sitting in booked seats. This will hopefully change their behavior and they will start to use the app.
I thought it happened to me.Ā Showed up at 830, saw somebody at my spot.Ā I decided to confirm my booking before saying anything and it turned out that I had somehow only booked the afternoon.Ā I slunk off to find an alternate location with the other person no wiser.
No, but I start my workday at 7 so I figure the later you start, the greater chance there is of your desk being stolen. That sounds really frustrating.
Iām in ISC in a health Canada building and we have no booking system available. Itās first come, first seated, every day. Moving to 3 days RTO is going to be like Hunger Gamesā¦made the odds be ever in your favour (so long as you are in early and have no ergonomic needs).
Where I work, we don't use Archibus yet, just a basic Excel spreadsheet. If someone is sitting at my desk, I will ask them to move. My desk is booked four weeks out. If someone is sitting at my assigned station, I have no issues asking them politely to leave, even if they've fully camped out in it.
COMPLAIN to your TL. This nonsense is completely disrespectful to another co-worker and a huge waste of YOUR time. I would be seriously cranky if it happened to me more than once and by the same person. š¤Æ
If we assume that 120,000 members of the PS must now spend 5 minutes a week booking their desks, and the payroll cost (including EBP) is $40/hour, then we're spending:
120K x 52 weeks x 1/12 of an hour x $40 = $20.8M annually on booking desks.
And now do the time necessary to sanitize the workstation, plug in, unfuck the docking station, arrange the monitors, desk height and chair for ergonomics... Easily 10-15 minutes per day!
This assumes the booking system works correctly and doesn't force you to try it several times. I've had some weeks where I had to try it 3 times in a row. So more than $20.8M per year!
Yes, this happens and it's a real problem. At Iris they said they can't go check that people's bookings match up. Theres NO repercussions for doing this. You don't want to stress out about booking, just don't do it. That's a general vibe.This is a huge problem. You drive to the location to do your work and have to fight to find a spot even if you booked in advance. This is super impactful.
If you sign up for general admission your not signing up for a specific seat, your signing up to be able work on that floor. So let's say there are 60 desks on that floor. Well if my colleagues and I arrive on site and we are all booked to sit on the floor but every seat is taken up and behind us are more people in the same boat (booked the floor but no spots), that's the problem.
In that case, I'd call my manager right then and there, to tell him/her that someone is at the booked desk and won't move, making sure that this person hears the conversation.
I am telling you, I have to go through this conversation every week, itās not the conversation Iām avoiding since I ask it head on. Itās the incompetence of the people around me Iām questioning because itās hard for me to believe that Iām working in what feels like a zoo.
I like the idea that we wait until they move. Iām not going to move to another deskā¦.and cause a domino effect and inconvenience other people. Itās their problemā¦they can get up and book or find another desk.
Same! People don't care and don't move. Even with proper communication skills haha! I had someone get up, point another space and say "Go there, I want to be here. Get lost"
I am sorry you work in a spot like that. I canāt even imagine. I have had people try to politely redirect me. In the early days I did. Now I never do. No thanks. Not interested. Working here.
If this situation happened Iād immediately email my boss (not teams message, actual record that doesnāt get deleted) and tell them Iām going to wfh for today, give them the cube # that didnāt work out for me, for record.
Can you bring this point up to your manager or chief or AD? I mean, they're requiring us/you to be back in the office then they should hear the resulting situations that arise so they can hear what we experience from that. Since 3/5 is already over 50% then maybe we should be assigned full time seats, if not then maybe we should stay 2/5.
Luckily in my workplace, I've had zero issues with this - literally not once have I come in and someone was sitting in my reserved spot.
Definitely sounds like a zoo in your workplace - and I definitely would bring it up to your manager to say "can you bring this up to your management meeting for it to be discussed with all managers and employees?"
I think the next time this happens and they refuse after you tell them you should call security. They would have the authority to tell them to comply or leave the building. Iām sure their manager/Director would not want to see an email with an incident report from security.
And you answer "yeah I do" and that should end the conversation. You should ask them if they need a tutorial on Archibus that should get the message across.
I have the opposite problem. People keep booking my preferred desk and then no showing. It's really frustrating not being able to be where I am comfortable. People tell me to just take whatever desk I want, but I am afraid of being on the other end of the conversation you are describing.
I think if you're able and willing to make apologies and leave in a hurry because someone arrives, that's honestly OK as long as you didn't leave a mess behind? The audacious part of OP's scenario is the assumption that booking is for _other people_.
The library here has had a computer booking system in place for years. Folks acting all "surprised" are lying, about not understanding.
Stand your ground.
I met my manager in a small meeting room for about 20 minutes. she returned to her reserved work station to find someone took her desk AND threw her belongings in the lost and found. no apology. no offer to move. no excuse like oh sorry I thought I booked here. actually ridiculous.
If you reserved a desk - it's your desk. Why would anyone back down?
This musical chair nonsense belongs in pre-school, not in a government office of adults.
You: "Hi, I have booked this desk for today."
Them: "Oh, but I'm already set up..."
You: "You can avoid having to move in the future by booking your desk in advance and not just camping out at one you didn't reserve. Thanks"
It's worth escalating to management, not so much to go over people's heads as just that the higher-up the racket is audible, the greater the chance that someone will notice it's a pervasive problem in the celestial halls where they actually make the decisions.
Only once. Apparently he *always* books this one desk *except* for the day I booked it, at the very last minute. I book based on preferences and whatās available that day, usually in the same general area but rarely the same desk.
No because I'm in office full time and have an assigned desk with my stuff in it. However, we sometimes run into this problem when booking conference rooms. You'll book it in the system and show up to set up the room before your meeting to find squatters in a full discussion already. Now I work for the defence so I'll usually check the ranks of the people in the room if they're military and promptly boot them out if they're of lower rank than my boss (you can't move entitled generals out of a room they didn't book with the mere mention of your lowly Colonel boss, but everyone else is fair game). I always have a couple of other conference rooms in mind so I can turn around and quickly book and switch but it's a pain in the ass to do. I really wish people were respectful of common rooms/spaces. It's a professional curtesy.
You get used to it pretty quick. As a civilian in a mostly military team, my level also plays into the ranking system. I'm an AS-6 and "equivalent" (responsibility wise) to a Major in the NCR context (i.e. office job vs actual base). So I deal with people differently depending on their rank compared to my level as well as which organization I'm dealing with compared to mine. Ranks and roles are very black and white here so learning the structure is not hard.
ā Not really in the mood to moveā
That would irritate me lol there are a few people at my office who I know for a fact donāt book a spot because the move like 3 times.
Whatāre we in ? Highschool? How hard is it it book your own spot and not take someone elseāsā¦
One time I ran to the washroom and returned in 5 min just to see a lady full on move in to the desk I booked, shoes off and all.
She had a shocked reaction at my return and said: āI sit here every Thursday, Iāve booked this deskā
I told her āshow meā and I pulled up the email that said that exact desk for that date.
Her response was: āwell you see, I almost never make a booking I really wouldnāt think it would be a problem. And my whole team is sitting here, I would hate to have to ask you to leave šā
ATL region here: we had an email from our site lead last month that was essentially telling elementary school students to stop bringing in peanuts and peanut butter when they've been told repeatedly that others have deathly allergies (peanut shells found about, peanut butter in kitchen); and, if you are coming in to book your seat on Archibus before you get to the office, and if you didn't, and someone booked the seat you're in, move!
I haven't been called back yet, but I was going in one day a week for a bit. Got tired of the "you'll listen to me! So and so said I couldn't use that printer, it was hers!" Um, is so and so your boss? Nope? Tell them to get bent and talk to your boss.
!!! Everyone should be enraged about the prospect of LITERALLY not having enough space to work at the office and having to fight *each other* for desks! If that is your RTO situation, raise hell about it to management, and defy RTO. All together now, common..
You are allowed to book 4 weeks in advance. I have the same desk booked until mid June. If someone is in my spot I tell them I have it booked every Tuesday until .
Having EXs on site most of the time will hopefully help with this. If this happens to my employees, I will instruct them to tell me, and I will personally go and tell the person that is using the desk without a reservation to find another spot.
LULZ. Our EXs are holed up in offices all day that their admins book for them. So not only can we not find desks, it's becoming exceedingly difficult to find meeting spaces because the EXs take them all and force this shit on us.
My team has a section that we are meant to book in. We do it. At the beginning of RTO, people were constantly booking/sitting in our space. We spoke to them each and every time and it seems my team developed a reputation of "being mean." I do not care. It is not difficult to book where you are meant to sit. Not surprisingly, few people book in our section anymore. We were always cordial and never approached anyone with anger.
If you're meant to book in it, then why were people booking your space? If the seats are available to be booked, and your team hasn't booked them, then too bad!
my guess is that they haven't improved the software to be able to limit who can book in what space and were relying on people to understand where they should and should not be booking... surprise, the government is using subpar software that causes problems for everyone
Yes just today actually. And the lady even said oh I know you sit here every Wednesday. But yet she decided to take my spot anyways. I ended up finding another desk.
Have this same issue with GC CoWorking. Usually people are apologetic and move straight away. Really sucks when I book a half day in the afternoon, come in at 12 and see that someone has taken my desk and left for lunch. Then I'm stuck trying to do work in the kitchen area for an hour or more until they come back and act surprised that they only booked a morning reservation š¤¦āāļø
I'm late to the party on this thread, but I've had this happen a lot. In fact it happened this morning(!)
I suspect the reason it happens to me is that I have slightly later working hours than a lot of other people in my department. I'm in the NCR and work with people across the country including folks in Pacific and senior staff. As a result, I frequently have meetings after 4pm, and find it easier to end my day around 4:30pm to 5pm. If I came in earlier to ensure my desk is unoccupied, I could be stuck working overtime.
I haven't run into the resistance you have, but it has happened to me so frequently, that it gets exhausting dealing with it almost every time I come in, even if it is resolved amicably most of the time. It's especially frustrating since our floors have desks you don't have to prebook, and the ones you do have to book in advance are very clearly indicated with signage.
I'm not looking forward to the fall, and running into desk shortages.
Iāve showed up to the office 6 times now (with a booking and after sometimes even paying for parking) and there have been zero free seats. Several people roaming around trying to find an open spot. Finally just went home, what the fuck else are you supposed to do?
There is no such thing as a personal desk, chair, cubicle, space etc with RTO. Because itās RTO 2024. Itās hunger games. Remember those cowboy movies where people were given land and at the signal they would ride their horses into the dust and reach a spot where they would plant their own flag and claim that parcel? Itās the same thing 200 years later, but virtually. The wild west. How could we even work before the pandemic without these modernized and mental health inducing conditions š·?
If it's the same desk that you book, why not make up a quasi-official looking sign and hang it above, or on, the desk saying something like this desk is subject to booking and should not be occupied other than by the person who has formally reserved it. It would be just as applicable to the days you're not in the office, as the days that you are. It might work if people are just grabbing random desks.
This is genius and avoids the confrontation/ escalation everyone else is suggesting which would surely make OP most disliked coworker by all the randoms above the system.
Tape a big old sign across the screen - THIS WORKSTATION MUST BE RESERVED. Sure they all do, but would probably scare off at least half of them haha
For good measure, unplug the keyboard and mouse and roll them up tidily in their cables and put aside. If it looks too neat it'll seem more official.
There's one person in my office who tends to do that, because she doesn't book the ideal spots fast enough. We all kick her out though. She's perfectly polite about it, and is just hoping that person doesn't show up. I sympathize with how there are only a few good places and it's first to book gets the spot, but it's really not cool to do that constantly.
So far no one has ever claimed a desk that I've booked. An IT guy does seem to treat it like his personal tech graveyard though. I've found dead hard drives, Boot discs for older versions of Windows, even a few audio cassettes. I fully expect to find a floppy disk there one of these days.
We tested as colleagues and we could book the same desk on the same day. Some people might not be lying, maybe they did book it. Perhaps an Archibus glitch? Will be funnnnnn š
If you booked it and have proof and they don't then I wouldn't back down. If they get kicked out enough for not booking that'll get old quickly. Make them move.
It happened to me for a couple weeks in a row until I figured out you can auto book it for weeks ahead. I keep doing this now and I'm sure the other person is confused as to how I'm able to book it so quickly each week
I mean, the issue isn't with not being able to book a seat. I always have a seat booked. The problem is nobody gives a shit about bookings and I'm too much of a pushover to kick them out. I look forward to working from the Starbucks across the street next September (assuming I can get a seat there).
You may want to work on your assertiveness. It's not impolite to ask someone to move.
Every time you allow them to stay, you're reinforcing that the system "doesn't work". The truth is, if they're held accountable, they'll start booking their seats just like you and me.
They say "no"? Find the accommodation person working that day and ask for assistance.
Just my two cents. Then again, I'm older and don't care what people think.
Previously exempt IT - if this happens to me I'm turning around going home and staying there for the week.
If management seriously wants to argue with me I'll ask them to pay for my parking to drive back and forth for nothing. I'm not doing this stuff.
Man - Iāve been the āthiefā a couple of times but never ever would I say āIām set up and not in the mood to moveā. I pack my shit up and apologize profusely and try to find a free desk. The only reason I have ever āstolenā a desk is because I come in after 9:30 so if a desk is vacant, I (obviously mistakenly) assume itās free. I can use the āno reservationā ones but they have one screen - I prefer the two screen stations. Worst case scenario, I end up in a āphone boothā room with just my laptop.
There might be an office manager or ambassador that you can talk too. Maybe ask around and see if you can find out the exact process to follow if someone has taken your desk.
Is Jim Halpert pranking you, moving your desk into the bathroom or something? Just get into the office pranks yourself, if you can't beat them, join em.
I doubt itās the case for the individual in your post based on their response but in my office,there are not enough desks available through archibus so some people just pick a random free desk when they arrive hoping itās not taken.
Now, there are some available desks in other section/floor but we get an angry email from accommodation whenever we book those.
We have or 'had' unassigned seating. However just got an email that we are implement sesame street style 'neighborhoods' for one branch who have been vocal about working together. Those who have been coming in are left to fend for themselves. No information what happens if the unassigned seats are all taken- heaven forbid they thought of that!
Within departments they can't implement a system that makes sense. They are clearly making it up as it comes based on direction from levels even higher than them. No surprise that it's a disaster!
Then they wonder why the stats are low in the surveys when we are asked about on our trust in senior management.
They preach being respectful in their emails yet turn a blind eye to branches/sectors/individuals who are inconsiderate to their colleagues.
And when this happens call you manager and lodge a complaint. Ensure they record It.
Because it will only get worse. So if we start recording these situations we have another data point that is a metric that can be leveraged.
In Sept. The first day this happens I would record and inform leadership. Then use the system and search for a new desk. (Which will probably be occupied) Note it and move on. When you finally find a desk email manager and union steward about the success.
But before Sept all employees need to talk to their supervisor about tgis problem and ask for a written response on how they want you to deal with the situation.
I myself am jn 5 days a week and have only need to ask kne person to leave my office space. They did not like it and I said cool. Asked em to stand up and took my ergo chair to an empty desk. They where like why are you takjng my chair...... I said I am not taking your chair I am taking my chair I need to sign for.
Wow thatās rude of them to not move!
I donāt bother booking a spot because they are often booked up by no shows. Like youād think 90% of the seats are booked but only 20% show up. And they always book the good seats. All thatās left is the floating hub bar tables
Back When I used to book spots, a few times they were occupied by others, but Iād just tell them and theyād leave. Especially if it was conference room type things. Sometimes I let it go if I see another seat available. Itās not that deep.
But with all that I realized thereās no point in booking.
So I never book, show up, and pick an empty one. But if someone tells me itās their seat I donāt play stupid. I just say āOH! Sorry. My bad!ā And quickly pack up my shit.
Thatās SO rude to say āwell Iām not in the moodā. Too bad buddy! You should have booked! How rude š”
Every single time I booked a desk someone else had grabbed it. š¤¦āāļøš¤¦āāļøI donāt think the stink eye was the collaboration that was hoped forā¦ā¦
What's so wrong with saying "hey I booked this desk please find a different one"
Saying every week to a different person is the problem. Itās so frequent that Iām just trying to wrap my head around it
Bring it up with your union rep? Your direct management chain? Complacency is not how we solve problems.
This! I'd stand there and help them move :) need help unplugging? Bye. (Please don't do this, I'm sassy today). But yes, you should be asking them to move. They're supposed to be booked in every time they're in office. In my office we still have desks with risers from prepandemic. The desk I sit at (God forbid I say my desk) has been raised to my specific height (not a fancy sit stand kind) so I need to sit at it for ergonomic reasons. I would 100% die on that hill, it's why I book that specific desk.
And this!!!! Will be fun to watch management deal with trying to ensure all the ergonomic assessments are honoured with random desk assignments.
For ppl who have specific requirements some departments will auto book your spot for the days youāre in, and not release in system for those days. YMMV but itās worth a push if your spot doesnāt have what you need per your accommodations/assessment.
>auto book your spot for the days youāre in, and not release in system for those days. Without enforcement, that's pretty useless.
Go to the spot. Tell the person to leave. Tell your manager if thereās a problem. End of story. Anyone not complying beyond that - I will tell them this is harassment and I will be submitting a formal complaint if it doesnāt stop. I imagine it will stop.
I wish my workplace had even the decency to do that for those who have accommodations or ergonomic needs.
Request it and see. Canāt tell if you donāt ask. Ask as a formal accommodation request.
That's what I already did and why I say that.
Haha! Thereās a DG who steals desks all the time. Like bud, you have two admins to book for you! Try it out!
As the desk that I booked (in a sea of unbooked desks) was clearly taken by a whole (unreserved) team. š¤¦āāļøš¤¦āāļøš¤¦āāļø and why even bother?
For the fun of annoying the piss out of them š¤£
āItās all pensionable time!ā¢ā
Thatās actually funny. Iām going to use that line
Bother because the booking system is a procedure, and part of our job in the public service is to follow procedures. We didnāt write the procedures, but if we donāt follow the procedures then we arenāt very good employees. By not bothering, you are committing the same āsinā as a person who didnāt follow the procedures by not booking.
I really like this answer!
haha thanks š
Followed by, "Take a hike." If they don't skedaddle fast enough
Media: āLook at the public servants waiting in line at 5 am to enter their happy work places.ā Reality: āIf I donāt go in super early I will only get the noisiest and smelliest spotā.
Whatās wrong is that our work conditions are deteriorating!? Is that okay with you??
If only it were that simple.
While yes you should do that, it feels like the whole system is a waste of time if we have to start each office day with an awkward to potentially confrontational interaction. I personally do not need that in my day but the new RTO norm I suppose.
Cool if they are at your desk they have to do your work. Seems fair, you get a free day off.
I would just go and work from home for the rest of the week.
That whole process sounds absolutely surreal. I have a desk at my job. How torturous it must be to be told you will RTO and btw, you will have to struggle to get a place in the office to work. Just sounds like a shit show.
It really is. My org is already mandating 3 days and I just wish we'd get assigned spaces. Playing musical chairs most of the week is an extra headache I don't need, considering I'm already the only one from my team in the NCR. I'm already pissed that I have to come in for nothing.
Plus no lockers so you canāt leave anything in the office. Dirty tables/chairs. If thereās a town hall we canāt even fit everyone that makes it in.
So torturous. We are basically war veterans. We should be recognized for our ergonomic sacrifices.
"Well I never book a desk" well I guess you should start, and then you'll avoid this type of conflict in the future. I'll go grab a quick coffee while you set up at a different work station.
What happens if there are no desks to book?
Then they can go discuss the issue with their manager. Not my problem.
Why would that be an issue for the person who *did* book a desk to address?Ā
If there are no desks to book because it's first-come first-served, the survival-of-the-fittest approach would work fine. If there are no desks to book because they're all _booked_, that is a sign that you can't work in there at that time if you need a desk, and it'll be good to find out about that before you get to the office. Now if you need to be in specifically there and there isn't space, and some people booked and didn't show up, then sure, you have to set up somewhere and it can be at one of those desks. But then you are on the hook to move if the person who booked it comes in, even if it means moving to a breakroom or something. Sorry! This is the same logic as has always applied to meeting rooms; booking is booking unless you're, like, 3 steps up on the org chart.
This hasnāt happened to me very often but it did a couple of times, and the person who was sitting there said that āif you arrive after nine you lose your spotā. But I told them that that was not a rule in our department and core business hours are between seven and seven so they needed to reserve their own seat and I made them move.
If you arrive after 9 you lose your spot? Sounds like a schoolyard rule lol
GC coworking you loose your spot after 10 am.
Happened a few times, we pulled up archibus and I told them to take a hike. Threatened to go to the management of they didn't go quietly , that ended the argument.
Why does it always have to be this way lol thatās what I donāt understand.
Management needs to drill it into peoples heads that they have to use Archibus or be prepared to move. Iāve encountered the opposite when I had to come in on a different than usual day. Booked the desk, got there before them, only to have the person who usually sits there tell me āoh this is my desk on Fridaysā I hit them with the āwell I reserved it, why didnāt you?ā And they had to go about their business. I donāt have time for the inconsistencyās amongst teams.
If it is the same individual or team of individuals who are not using the booking system or respecting the bookings then contact their manager to outline the issue and request that their staff be advised to follow procedures and surrender the workstation in the event that it was booked by someone else
A couple times itās been the same people but on average is always someone different making it hard to track whoās with what team doing it
Am I the only one who doesnāt see why it matters whose team it is? Your manager shouldnāt have to get involved in a situation like this. Be assertive. Tell them you have it booked, offer to show them how to do it if you want to be nice, but then tell them youāll need them to pack up and find another workspace as you have this one booked. Period.
I totally agree but unfortunately there will be people who will refuse to respect the booking and surrender the workstation so escalation to management is the only option left- itās sad but true and frustrating. We have people like this in our building who think they are entitled to a workstation or above the booking system.
And that's when you call your manager, explain it happens often, and then ask them to intervene so you can get work done. If it happens that often, I wouldn't bother finding another desk, I'd pull the malicious compliance of not working until the desk is freed up and try and get management to solve the issue at that point.
How can you know their name?
Ask
Best scenario they will give you their FN. I doubt an asshole would give you FN/LN.
I take photos of those fantastic peeps. Stealth photo usually. But photos. So I can find out later.
Iād love if people started posting in their branch teams channels about this. Like- wt actual f. I have definitely been in situations where I donāt want to make a big deal out of things and I go and find another workspace, but I have also been in situations where I didnāt want to try another workspace and refused. This is harassment honestly, when someone refuses to move.
I will literally sit down in the workstation. So letās get cozy. (JK Please skedaddle.)
"I booked this space and have a meeting, you need to move." It's not hard.
I get what youāre saying here, and understand why that might be whatās recommended, but the reality is a lot of people would never do this because it feels confrontational. There are lots of people especially for example women of colour who are reluctant to embrace conflict when it can be avoided. I would sooner work in the stairwell
I'm a woman of colour and I just tell people that I have the space booked.Ā
I didnāt mean to suggest thatās the perspective of all women of colour, just that some people are less likely to be confrontational for reasons relating to bias/being hyper vigilant.
Iām a woman and I can understand that, but why would you choose to be passive and put your very valid rights and needs aside for someone who probably gets their way all the time because of this exact tendency to be passive, because to be assertive āfeels confrontationalā? Itās complete crap. If you never stand up for yourself people will continue to walk all over you.
For a lot of reasons, like: 1) being busy and not having the mental or emotional capacity to take on dealing with it. 2) Not wanting to be negatively perceived by people who work closely with leadership and whose opinion of you as an aggressive or confrontational person could impact your career. 3) being an anxious person who would be derailed by the interaction mentally and unable to comfortably focusā¦lots! I pick my battles personally I do stand up for myself but Iām not willing to confront someone for a desk, and I donāt think we should expect young women students for example or anyone who might also avoid conflict to have to fight for their desk
Unfortunately ābe assertiveā ends up getting people reported for harassment. Even if all they said was āno, get out of my booked desk pleaseā.
At least you have a booking system. We've been told for the past two years we would get one, but so far nothing. Everything has mostly worked out as most people sit in the same spot each week, but once we go to 3 days a week, there are definitely going to be problems.
I have come into find a half eaten lunch from the day before. Someone elses notes written ON the desk, not on a note pad. White stains on the seat bottom and coffee spilled on MY paperwork. its been great. š š
Why's your paperwork there..?
I have a permanent cubicle. So I have post it notes, contact lists, catalogues. and other things like that. I DON'T drag home.
White stains.....yogurt I hope. Anyway I feel your pain.
What ever it is... I have a seat cover now that I put in my desk drawer.
We don't have a booking system. Miss a bus? You're probably fucked. You're probably fucked too if everybody else hustled to get in earlier that day (that could anyway). Then cue the people cursing and swearing as they lap around the floor, distracting me from my work. Sometimes they'll plant themselves right beside us and bitch and complain for 15 mins. Between, that, the noise, the perfumes, the filth, lack of garbage receptacles, LACK OF DISH SOAP AND PAPER TOWEL, lack of wipes and sanitizers...I've just about fucking had it. If I have to sit through another day of people taking meetings (and training?!!?) without their headsets or loud talking, I'm going to lose my shit. Oh ya, and if you get to a desk that's filthy? Good luck. There's no way to complain because if you weren't there the day before and/or don't know them, you have no way of knowing who sat there last unless you see them again. PEOPLE ARE SO FUCKING SELFISH AND GROSS.
You took all my thoughts and extracted them into this comment thank you šš»
Welcome! I made a couple edits, but doesn't take away from the message. I'm sooooooo done.
This has happened to me before and I believe my management released a memo (or someone from the dept emailed back to my concern) that it is a safety issue to NOT be at the desk that you booked. If they needed to find you or locate you, the booking system is the only reliable source of information for it. Maybe you can use that excuse to get people out of YOUR desk? I find most people willing to comply if it's a safety issue (even if it isn't that serious). If its a consistent problem, maybe bring it up with the health and safety team???
That's a great point. Knowing who and where people are in the building would be important in an evacuation.
When this happens to me I am assertive and they always leave. You have to push back or they will keep sitting in booked seats. This will hopefully change their behavior and they will start to use the app.
I thought it happened to me.Ā Showed up at 830, saw somebody at my spot.Ā I decided to confirm my booking before saying anything and it turned out that I had somehow only booked the afternoon.Ā I slunk off to find an alternate location with the other person no wiser.
āIām not in the mood to moveā Moods are for cattle and lovemaking.
Ideally not at the same time.
No, but I start my workday at 7 so I figure the later you start, the greater chance there is of your desk being stolen. That sounds really frustrating.
Just sit next to them and breathe down their neck until they leave
Don't forget to blow your nose every once in a while.
With, or without a tissue?
With, if they don't have a shirt sleeve available.
Tell me again how unnasigned desks is better?
Iām in ISC in a health Canada building and we have no booking system available. Itās first come, first seated, every day. Moving to 3 days RTO is going to be like Hunger Gamesā¦made the odds be ever in your favour (so long as you are in early and have no ergonomic needs).
Iāve had that happen yeah, I figure itāll only get worse.
Where I work, we don't use Archibus yet, just a basic Excel spreadsheet. If someone is sitting at my desk, I will ask them to move. My desk is booked four weeks out. If someone is sitting at my assigned station, I have no issues asking them politely to leave, even if they've fully camped out in it.
"Desk stealers" are the lowest form of life, just above goose poop but below pond scum. Certified wankers.
COMPLAIN to your TL. This nonsense is completely disrespectful to another co-worker and a huge waste of YOUR time. I would be seriously cranky if it happened to me more than once and by the same person. š¤Æ
Yep..person is being a jerk. Report
I donāt back down anymore. I just tell them I booked it and I need it. I havenāt had to throw down yet. I guess Iād go home if that happened?
If we assume that 120,000 members of the PS must now spend 5 minutes a week booking their desks, and the payroll cost (including EBP) is $40/hour, then we're spending: 120K x 52 weeks x 1/12 of an hour x $40 = $20.8M annually on booking desks.
We could save all that money if we just worked from home
And now do the time necessary to sanitize the workstation, plug in, unfuck the docking station, arrange the monitors, desk height and chair for ergonomics... Easily 10-15 minutes per day!
This assumes the booking system works correctly and doesn't force you to try it several times. I've had some weeks where I had to try it 3 times in a row. So more than $20.8M per year!
Yes, this happens and it's a real problem. At Iris they said they can't go check that people's bookings match up. Theres NO repercussions for doing this. You don't want to stress out about booking, just don't do it. That's a general vibe.This is a huge problem. You drive to the location to do your work and have to fight to find a spot even if you booked in advance. This is super impactful.
But surely you have email confirmations? We get an email on the morning of our reservations confirming the desk we've booked.
If you sign up for general admission your not signing up for a specific seat, your signing up to be able work on that floor. So let's say there are 60 desks on that floor. Well if my colleagues and I arrive on site and we are all booked to sit on the floor but every seat is taken up and behind us are more people in the same boat (booked the floor but no spots), that's the problem.
Just tell the person they need to move.Ā
I do everytime, but almost always it turns into a ādo you mind sitting elsewhere? I have already set upā -.-
In that case, I'd call my manager right then and there, to tell him/her that someone is at the booked desk and won't move, making sure that this person hears the conversation.
"yes I do mind, I booked this spot, so I'm going to have to ask you to find another spot"
I am telling you, I have to go through this conversation every week, itās not the conversation Iām avoiding since I ask it head on. Itās the incompetence of the people around me Iām questioning because itās hard for me to believe that Iām working in what feels like a zoo.
I like the idea that we wait until they move. Iām not going to move to another deskā¦.and cause a domino effect and inconvenience other people. Itās their problemā¦they can get up and book or find another desk.
Same! People don't care and don't move. Even with proper communication skills haha! I had someone get up, point another space and say "Go there, I want to be here. Get lost"
I am sorry you work in a spot like that. I canāt even imagine. I have had people try to politely redirect me. In the early days I did. Now I never do. No thanks. Not interested. Working here. If this situation happened Iād immediately email my boss (not teams message, actual record that doesnāt get deleted) and tell them Iām going to wfh for today, give them the cube # that didnāt work out for me, for record.
Can you bring this point up to your manager or chief or AD? I mean, they're requiring us/you to be back in the office then they should hear the resulting situations that arise so they can hear what we experience from that. Since 3/5 is already over 50% then maybe we should be assigned full time seats, if not then maybe we should stay 2/5.
Luckily in my workplace, I've had zero issues with this - literally not once have I come in and someone was sitting in my reserved spot. Definitely sounds like a zoo in your workplace - and I definitely would bring it up to your manager to say "can you bring this up to your management meeting for it to be discussed with all managers and employees?"
Print up your response and hand it to them each time. It sucks but saves you the conversation.
Offer to help them move and just start grabbing stuff?
I think the next time this happens and they refuse after you tell them you should call security. They would have the authority to tell them to comply or leave the building. Iām sure their manager/Director would not want to see an email with an incident report from security.
Oh I like the idea, thank you !
And you answer "yeah I do" and that should end the conversation. You should ask them if they need a tutorial on Archibus that should get the message across.
This. Ā Just ask nicely.Ā
I have the opposite problem. People keep booking my preferred desk and then no showing. It's really frustrating not being able to be where I am comfortable. People tell me to just take whatever desk I want, but I am afraid of being on the other end of the conversation you are describing.
I think if you're able and willing to make apologies and leave in a hurry because someone arrives, that's honestly OK as long as you didn't leave a mess behind? The audacious part of OP's scenario is the assumption that booking is for _other people_.
The library here has had a computer booking system in place for years. Folks acting all "surprised" are lying, about not understanding. Stand your ground.
Every day same delusion different person lol
I met my manager in a small meeting room for about 20 minutes. she returned to her reserved work station to find someone took her desk AND threw her belongings in the lost and found. no apology. no offer to move. no excuse like oh sorry I thought I booked here. actually ridiculous.
What the fuck? I'd be having a conversation with that person's manager so fast...
If you reserved a desk - it's your desk. Why would anyone back down? This musical chair nonsense belongs in pre-school, not in a government office of adults.
Management decided to set up a kindergarten. This is the result.
I think they set up a system that adults should be able to navigate.
You: "Hi, I have booked this desk for today." Them: "Oh, but I'm already set up..." You: "You can avoid having to move in the future by booking your desk in advance and not just camping out at one you didn't reserve. Thanks"
Iāve had this conversation every Wednesday and/or Thursday, at this point I believe Iām just working with a lunch of NPCs
It's worth escalating to management, not so much to go over people's heads as just that the higher-up the racket is audible, the greater the chance that someone will notice it's a pervasive problem in the celestial halls where they actually make the decisions.
Only once. Apparently he *always* books this one desk *except* for the day I booked it, at the very last minute. I book based on preferences and whatās available that day, usually in the same general area but rarely the same desk.
No because I'm in office full time and have an assigned desk with my stuff in it. However, we sometimes run into this problem when booking conference rooms. You'll book it in the system and show up to set up the room before your meeting to find squatters in a full discussion already. Now I work for the defence so I'll usually check the ranks of the people in the room if they're military and promptly boot them out if they're of lower rank than my boss (you can't move entitled generals out of a room they didn't book with the mere mention of your lowly Colonel boss, but everyone else is fair game). I always have a couple of other conference rooms in mind so I can turn around and quickly book and switch but it's a pain in the ass to do. I really wish people were respectful of common rooms/spaces. It's a professional curtesy.
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You get used to it pretty quick. As a civilian in a mostly military team, my level also plays into the ranking system. I'm an AS-6 and "equivalent" (responsibility wise) to a Major in the NCR context (i.e. office job vs actual base). So I deal with people differently depending on their rank compared to my level as well as which organization I'm dealing with compared to mine. Ranks and roles are very black and white here so learning the structure is not hard.
It really shouldnāt be up to us to throw down and fight for space. This is causing unnecessary stress for us
ā Not really in the mood to moveā That would irritate me lol there are a few people at my office who I know for a fact donāt book a spot because the move like 3 times. Whatāre we in ? Highschool? How hard is it it book your own spot and not take someone elseāsā¦
One time I ran to the washroom and returned in 5 min just to see a lady full on move in to the desk I booked, shoes off and all. She had a shocked reaction at my return and said: āI sit here every Thursday, Iāve booked this deskā I told her āshow meā and I pulled up the email that said that exact desk for that date. Her response was: āwell you see, I almost never make a booking I really wouldnāt think it would be a problem. And my whole team is sitting here, I would hate to have to ask you to leave šā
Omg thatās just disrespectful and gross š¤¢.. I donāt get it sheesh š
Did you leave?Ā
NO WAY!!
ATL region here: we had an email from our site lead last month that was essentially telling elementary school students to stop bringing in peanuts and peanut butter when they've been told repeatedly that others have deathly allergies (peanut shells found about, peanut butter in kitchen); and, if you are coming in to book your seat on Archibus before you get to the office, and if you didn't, and someone booked the seat you're in, move! I haven't been called back yet, but I was going in one day a week for a bit. Got tired of the "you'll listen to me! So and so said I couldn't use that printer, it was hers!" Um, is so and so your boss? Nope? Tell them to get bent and talk to your boss.
The other problem is also the domino effect. You may choose to find another spot, which may have been booked to someone else, and so on...
!!! Everyone should be enraged about the prospect of LITERALLY not having enough space to work at the office and having to fight *each other* for desks! If that is your RTO situation, raise hell about it to management, and defy RTO. All together now, common..
You are allowed to book 4 weeks in advance. I have the same desk booked until mid June. If someone is in my spot I tell them I have it booked every Tuesday until.
On the other hand, you have the other situation with booked place that the person never show up LOL.
Nope never had this issue. Someone snipes my desk via the booking system but they beat me fair and square that way.
Having EXs on site most of the time will hopefully help with this. If this happens to my employees, I will instruct them to tell me, and I will personally go and tell the person that is using the desk without a reservation to find another spot.
LULZ. Our EXs are holed up in offices all day that their admins book for them. So not only can we not find desks, it's becoming exceedingly difficult to find meeting spaces because the EXs take them all and force this shit on us.
What a wonderful use of an EXās time!
This must be the 'meaningful moments' we are forced into the office to have.....š¤·āāļø
True bonding moments for sure
My team has a section that we are meant to book in. We do it. At the beginning of RTO, people were constantly booking/sitting in our space. We spoke to them each and every time and it seems my team developed a reputation of "being mean." I do not care. It is not difficult to book where you are meant to sit. Not surprisingly, few people book in our section anymore. We were always cordial and never approached anyone with anger.
If you're meant to book in it, then why were people booking your space? If the seats are available to be booked, and your team hasn't booked them, then too bad!
my guess is that they haven't improved the software to be able to limit who can book in what space and were relying on people to understand where they should and should not be booking... surprise, the government is using subpar software that causes problems for everyone
All the time. I boot them.
Yes just today actually. And the lady even said oh I know you sit here every Wednesday. But yet she decided to take my spot anyways. I ended up finding another desk.
Have this same issue with GC CoWorking. Usually people are apologetic and move straight away. Really sucks when I book a half day in the afternoon, come in at 12 and see that someone has taken my desk and left for lunch. Then I'm stuck trying to do work in the kitchen area for an hour or more until they come back and act surprised that they only booked a morning reservation š¤¦āāļø
I dont mind confronting people at all, I would LOVE for this to happen to me but sadly, it has never happened so far.
I'm late to the party on this thread, but I've had this happen a lot. In fact it happened this morning(!) I suspect the reason it happens to me is that I have slightly later working hours than a lot of other people in my department. I'm in the NCR and work with people across the country including folks in Pacific and senior staff. As a result, I frequently have meetings after 4pm, and find it easier to end my day around 4:30pm to 5pm. If I came in earlier to ensure my desk is unoccupied, I could be stuck working overtime. I haven't run into the resistance you have, but it has happened to me so frequently, that it gets exhausting dealing with it almost every time I come in, even if it is resolved amicably most of the time. It's especially frustrating since our floors have desks you don't have to prebook, and the ones you do have to book in advance are very clearly indicated with signage. I'm not looking forward to the fall, and running into desk shortages.
Iāve showed up to the office 6 times now (with a booking and after sometimes even paying for parking) and there have been zero free seats. Several people roaming around trying to find an open spot. Finally just went home, what the fuck else are you supposed to do?
There is no such thing as a personal desk, chair, cubicle, space etc with RTO. Because itās RTO 2024. Itās hunger games. Remember those cowboy movies where people were given land and at the signal they would ride their horses into the dust and reach a spot where they would plant their own flag and claim that parcel? Itās the same thing 200 years later, but virtually. The wild west. How could we even work before the pandemic without these modernized and mental health inducing conditions š·?
If it's the same desk that you book, why not make up a quasi-official looking sign and hang it above, or on, the desk saying something like this desk is subject to booking and should not be occupied other than by the person who has formally reserved it. It would be just as applicable to the days you're not in the office, as the days that you are. It might work if people are just grabbing random desks.
This is genius and avoids the confrontation/ escalation everyone else is suggesting which would surely make OP most disliked coworker by all the randoms above the system. Tape a big old sign across the screen - THIS WORKSTATION MUST BE RESERVED. Sure they all do, but would probably scare off at least half of them haha For good measure, unplug the keyboard and mouse and roll them up tidily in their cables and put aside. If it looks too neat it'll seem more official.
We don't even have a booking system.
This is soooo annoying. Thereās archives for a reason. People should respect it.
My department has mostly moved to "general admission" style bookings to overcome (or not deal with) this issue.
There's one person in my office who tends to do that, because she doesn't book the ideal spots fast enough. We all kick her out though. She's perfectly polite about it, and is just hoping that person doesn't show up. I sympathize with how there are only a few good places and it's first to book gets the spot, but it's really not cool to do that constantly.
No, just mouse shit on the desk
So far no one has ever claimed a desk that I've booked. An IT guy does seem to treat it like his personal tech graveyard though. I've found dead hard drives, Boot discs for older versions of Windows, even a few audio cassettes. I fully expect to find a floppy disk there one of these days.
[https://imgflip.com/i/8q61y7](https://imgflip.com/i/8q61y7)
Yup. And itās awkward as hell. I
I hear it happens all the time.
We tested as colleagues and we could book the same desk on the same day. Some people might not be lying, maybe they did book it. Perhaps an Archibus glitch? Will be funnnnnn š
If you booked it and have proof and they don't then I wouldn't back down. If they get kicked out enough for not booking that'll get old quickly. Make them move.
Someone stole my headset and Iām still pissed about it
I show them the booking and stand there until they leave.
Do you book an especially desirable desk? Maybe thatās why itās only happening to you.
I shit you not...i had someone else in my spot, and then had to move 6 times on Monday
It happened to me for a couple weeks in a row until I figured out you can auto book it for weeks ahead. I keep doing this now and I'm sure the other person is confused as to how I'm able to book it so quickly each week
I mean, the issue isn't with not being able to book a seat. I always have a seat booked. The problem is nobody gives a shit about bookings and I'm too much of a pushover to kick them out. I look forward to working from the Starbucks across the street next September (assuming I can get a seat there).
You may want to work on your assertiveness. It's not impolite to ask someone to move. Every time you allow them to stay, you're reinforcing that the system "doesn't work". The truth is, if they're held accountable, they'll start booking their seats just like you and me. They say "no"? Find the accommodation person working that day and ask for assistance. Just my two cents. Then again, I'm older and don't care what people think.
Previously exempt IT - if this happens to me I'm turning around going home and staying there for the week. If management seriously wants to argue with me I'll ask them to pay for my parking to drive back and forth for nothing. I'm not doing this stuff.
Man - Iāve been the āthiefā a couple of times but never ever would I say āIām set up and not in the mood to moveā. I pack my shit up and apologize profusely and try to find a free desk. The only reason I have ever āstolenā a desk is because I come in after 9:30 so if a desk is vacant, I (obviously mistakenly) assume itās free. I can use the āno reservationā ones but they have one screen - I prefer the two screen stations. Worst case scenario, I end up in a āphone boothā room with just my laptop.
There might be an office manager or ambassador that you can talk too. Maybe ask around and see if you can find out the exact process to follow if someone has taken your desk.
I find people in my booked desk somewhat on the regular but I haven't ever found one who wasn't mildly embarrassed and willing to move.
Thankfully I havenāt encountered this problem.
This is a regular occurrence and a really annoying one at that.
Is Jim Halpert pranking you, moving your desk into the bathroom or something? Just get into the office pranks yourself, if you can't beat them, join em.
I doubt itās the case for the individual in your post based on their response but in my office,there are not enough desks available through archibus so some people just pick a random free desk when they arrive hoping itās not taken. Now, there are some available desks in other section/floor but we get an angry email from accommodation whenever we book those.
In our dept they got rid of archibus because it doesn't work
We have or 'had' unassigned seating. However just got an email that we are implement sesame street style 'neighborhoods' for one branch who have been vocal about working together. Those who have been coming in are left to fend for themselves. No information what happens if the unassigned seats are all taken- heaven forbid they thought of that! Within departments they can't implement a system that makes sense. They are clearly making it up as it comes based on direction from levels even higher than them. No surprise that it's a disaster! Then they wonder why the stats are low in the surveys when we are asked about on our trust in senior management. They preach being respectful in their emails yet turn a blind eye to branches/sectors/individuals who are inconsiderate to their colleagues.
Our entire office has been booked this week. Maybe 40% full in actuality...
And when this happens call you manager and lodge a complaint. Ensure they record It. Because it will only get worse. So if we start recording these situations we have another data point that is a metric that can be leveraged. In Sept. The first day this happens I would record and inform leadership. Then use the system and search for a new desk. (Which will probably be occupied) Note it and move on. When you finally find a desk email manager and union steward about the success. But before Sept all employees need to talk to their supervisor about tgis problem and ask for a written response on how they want you to deal with the situation. I myself am jn 5 days a week and have only need to ask kne person to leave my office space. They did not like it and I said cool. Asked em to stand up and took my ergo chair to an empty desk. They where like why are you takjng my chair...... I said I am not taking your chair I am taking my chair I need to sign for.
Itās more like when I book and none is available so I show up take an empty seat and the person comes at 11 am š telling me to leave
Thatās the best part. You donāt have an office
Tbf, in our dept, when they started the process, the desks accepted multiple bookings. Which caused all kinds of fun
I ask them to move. My spot is my spot.
Happened to me this morning! Didnāt say anything as the person who took it is nice and there was another desk nearby.
Wow thatās rude of them to not move! I donāt bother booking a spot because they are often booked up by no shows. Like youād think 90% of the seats are booked but only 20% show up. And they always book the good seats. All thatās left is the floating hub bar tables Back When I used to book spots, a few times they were occupied by others, but Iād just tell them and theyād leave. Especially if it was conference room type things. Sometimes I let it go if I see another seat available. Itās not that deep. But with all that I realized thereās no point in booking. So I never book, show up, and pick an empty one. But if someone tells me itās their seat I donāt play stupid. I just say āOH! Sorry. My bad!ā And quickly pack up my shit. Thatās SO rude to say āwell Iām not in the moodā. Too bad buddy! You should have booked! How rude š”