Sharing Office Space

[danieleWrites]

I've just found out that I'll be sharing not only an office with a ton of other people, but that I'm expected to share a desk with at least one, probably two people. While I totally get that office space is budgetary issue and people who are only using an office for a few hours a week on a temporary basis don't need to waste department budget and space on their own luxury suites, I still hate sharing a desk. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it! Not in love with office sharing, but good times have been had. Okay, ranting finished. I really doubt I'm alone in the dislike of overcrowding, but despite all my rage, we're still just rats in a cage.

 

So, anyway. What kinds of tips, tricks, etiquette, passive-aggressive whining, Thou Shalt Nots, and/or please do!s might you have for sharing offices? Sharing desks?

 

Here's some of mine:

 

I teach comp and we always have to conference with students. And for some reason, we all seem to schedule conferences at the same freaking time. I learned to negotiate with my office mates from the beginning so we weren't all trying to conference in one office at the same time. I'll conference Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, you take Monday and Wednesday morning.

 

Food. It's a problem. Stinky food, particularly. It's not the food itself, or the act of eating it, but rather what happens to the wrappings, discards, and whatnot. I think that it's courtesy not to use the office trash can for food items after the custodian has been through for the day. It's worse by a factor of a bajillion if the food is tossed in the office trash can after the custodian has been through on Friday. Monday mornings are gross. I take my banana peels to a less enclosed trash can. When eating at your desk, chew with your mouth shut. Seriously. If you're a messy eater, don't eat at your desk.

 

Coffee pots. Make sure it's pot for coffee and not heating water before making coffee in it. Make sure it's a communal pot, Make sure to keep it clean! Coffee drinkers should work out who will empty and clean the pot before everyone goes home for the day. Moldy coffee is gross. Moldy coffee grounds are gross.

 

Don't "borrow" people's candy. It's not cool.

 

Bakers, we're in a sedentary job. Don't get pushy or take offense if someone turns your wares down. You may think you're being nice, but some of us are working off the undergrad 45, or have high cholesterol, or we're allergic, or something. No doesn't mean we don't love you. It means we don't want to eat it.

 

Music: Headphones. Also, I can hear it if you turn it up too loud.

 

Conversation. It's a work space. People in the office are doing work. People in the office next door or across the hall are doing work. Enjoy the conversation, have fun and enjoy the people you work with, but keep it down.

 

Before you coat the walls with pictures, posters, and fun sayings, make sure you remember that you're in an office that you and your colleagues will use to further a professional student-teacher relationship with visiting students. Your credibility as a teacher will be judged by the stuff you have on the walls. Your credibility will be judged by the stuff your office mates have on the walls. You don't have to turn the place into a doctor's waiting room, but don't turn it into a party, either.

 

Be courteous when you're sick. Don't snot on my dictionary and I won't snot on your thesaurus.

 

It's an office, not a quickie day care center. Bring the kids for a visit, but if you want to bring the kids, especially the younger ones that require a lot of stuff and attention, for a long visit, perhaps while the parent or whoever is in class or at an appointment, put a little thought into it. Take them around the department to show them off, then take them outside to play.

 

Don't assume that you should instruct your office mates in how to prepare assignments, syllabi, select books for a course, blah blah blah, even if they ask you. Answer questions, don't lecture. (My tone here is pretty much proof that it will be irritating, not well received.)

 

For your own safety, don't vent about the annoying things your professors may or may not be doing. The walls aren't that thick and voices carry very well through corridors.

[booksnlooks]

I spent two years in a shared office space at my last school. It wasn't typically too crowded until the end of the term, but to spare myself any potential headaches, I only used the space for office hours. I did my work in the library, quiet coffee shops, and at home. Maybe that approach would help?

[comp12]

This is a good topic.

 

At my department, we have a huge (like, a building) space set aside for the graduate students. It's dirty, old, run-down, out-of-the-way (not very close to the actual physical department) space, but it's there nonetheless, which is not to be taken for granted given the real estate problems on campus. The students 'self-run' this space. The desks are "modular" so those who want to use to the space can move the desks around and build their own cubicles. Some like it cafeteria-style, others go into reclusive corners. We have a kitchen space for shared coffee, tea, microwaving, and it works well, although it gets dirty during certain peak times.

 

I don't share my desk, although some do. I think the key is: keep a mini-shelf / storage container / safe and put all your files and books in there. Close it when done and put it to the side when you leave. Are there any common areas not assigned to a specific student, but are usable by everyone? If so, I may grab my files and bring it there. Or, is it rare to have everyone in the office at the same time? Perhaps you could just take your books to another student's desk when s/he is not there. If he comes in, of course you'd have to vacate. The key to all this, is to reduce clutter. Have a safe box or a plastic container or something, and keep your files in there, rather than the preexisting fixed cabinets. In a shared deskspace, you may enjoy the ability to get up and move with ease.

 

My own cubicle is pretty cluttered by now, with just about my entire library of books checked out, and plenty of folders of notes and essays. Then again, I don't share my cubicle, so this is pretty much my permanent office setup for the rest of my graduate career on campus.

[comp12]

 

Bakers, we're in a sedentary job. Don't get pushy or take offense if someone turns your wares down. You may think you're being nice, but some of us are working off the undergrad 45, or have high cholesterol, or we're allergic, or something. No doesn't mean we don't love you. It means we don't want to eat it.

 

 

 

Hahaha - this isn't so exclusive to office spaces, but to life in general. I always secretly hated that person. You know, the one who shows up at the last day of class, or if it's someone's birthday, or to celebrate someone's accomplishment, or whatever...and goes OH MY GOD OH MY GOD, I MADE CUPCAKES FOR EVERYONE!! THEY ARE MY GRANDMA'S SPECIAL FAMILY RECIPE! TOTALLY VEGAN! COMPLETELY GLUTEN FREE! AND LOOK I MADE THEM INTO HEARTS AND BUNNIES AND LADYBUG SHAPES ESPECIALLY FOR U GUYZZ! PLEASE, EAT THEM ALL, EAT THEM ALL! 

 

No, I don't want to eat them. I don't like cupcakes. No I don't have to be an evil, heartless, cruel monster to not like cupcakes. No, I don't care if they are vegan and gluten-free. Cupcakes just don't appeal to me.

[comp12]

Okay, back from the sidetrack

 

Adding to the OP's list of DON'Ts:

 

• Don't "borrow" the stapler sitting on another student's desk when s/he's not there. Get your own. Same with post-it notes and paper clips. If he IS there, don't even ask him to use it, because he won't say no. Then, soon you'll be freeloading all your stationary from him the entire year. And he won't like it.
• Don't live in the office. If you need to stay until 2AM working, then it's perfectly fine. But if you're gonna stay until 2AM watching Youtube and using Facebook, then just go home. It's a communal work space, not your apartment. No yoga mats, no taking "naps" on the couch. Don't bring all your toiletries/combs/toothbrushes to the office for regular "all-nighters"
• Don't go on Skype chats at your desk, even for professional/academic conversations. Use the conference room, go outside somewhere, or go home.

 

And some DO's:

• If you have a stapler, expect to be refilling it very very often.
• Turn off the lights if you're the last one out. Or if there is any chance you might be the last one out.
• If there is a shared kitchen space, put your own stuff in ziploc bags or tupperware, and label them. More importantly, throw out your food from the fridge if they're spoiled!
• Bring layers. Maybe permanently leave a pullover in your cubicle shelf. Ask others before you decide to open/close all the windows and change the thermostat.
• Buy a Kensington Lock for your laptop if you are going to be using it at this space often.

[jeffster]

A shared desk in an office?  Gee, that sounds nice!  I go to school right in the center of a big, crowded city where every inch of space is at a premium.  My entire department has one (1) small room for all the PhD students, and a handful of communal offices that you can check out a key for if you need it for office hours or something.

 

So, good luck with what you've got!

[igfy]

Wow, I feel privileged. We share a small office with the four of us, but we each have our own desk and a cupboard shelve, so it's not too bad. We have some unwritten rules, but we get along just fine, so there's nop offical rules or anything.

 

- When you get a call on your cell-phone, you leave the office

- Ask before using someone's books/stuff

- If you need to have a conference, go to the conference room and don't stay in the office

 

Besides this, we all use headphones, keep the office clean and lock the door when we're last to leave. 

[kateausten]

Pay attention to others' body language and do not chat with them if they seem to be working.  If they continue staring at the computer while you're speaking, and giving short answers, stop chatting with them.  I have been pretty lucky with my office mates and office -- I have my own desk and no one is excessively rude or smelly.  The only issue that I have had is that some are really chatty, and some seem to need to vent or get social support a lot after uprooting their lives to be here, so (as an introvert who doesn't work well with distractions) it's been very difficult for me to get work done when they are around.  I'm actually considering avoiding my office for this reason and trying to work in the library instead.  I have to figure out a way to say "Don't talk to me!" that doesn't make me feel like an ass.  (Maybe headphones -- but I don't listen to music while working so it could get awkward if they ask what I'm listening to or notice that I have no music open?)

[St Andrews Lynx]

 (Maybe headphones -- but I don't listen to music while working so it could get awkward if they ask what I'm listening to or notice that I have no music open?)

I've seen a couple of folk I know wearing earplugs in a shared work space. I think it's perfectly legit to do so - some people like music/noise in the background when they work, others find it disrupting. You can say it's because you find noise in general distracting while you work - that way it doesn't have to be about the other person at all.

[demogragirl]

Pretty funny about the bakers! I agree, its tough to turn things down, so when I do have the willpower to say "no", support me in my choice! I dont know if I could share a desk, just because I am so particular about the way I arrange things!