Personal Space

August 7, 2008 at 6:10 PM (Uncategorized) (Assistive Technology, Boundaries, Ergonomics, Gremlins, Office Furniture, Snark, Work)

I figure I can make this post generic enough that it won’t divulge anything proprietary about my present employer…

There’s a ghost in my department, a poltergeist, a gnome, a trickster…or some real person crossing a line, I’m not sure which

I have an ergonomically designed chair and desk, that have been altered to suit my specifications.

Every morning for nearly two weeks I come into work, and my chair is raised to its maximum height, as are the chair’s armrests.  No one elses chair has been subject to nocturnal alteration.

Since I cannot reach the lever by myself, a coworker has to come and sit in the chair and lower it back down each morning…

This began to hack me off.

Boss and co-workers have said they have not been there, and  are gone by the time I leave, anyway so they’re ruled out.  (there may be some covert investigation going on that they are not allowed to disclose, but there’s been little tension at work lately, so I discount that)

I checked with IT…none of them have had to do any long term nocturnal fixes to my computer.

I checked with Maintenance, and they advised that they’d checked and they have no people up there either…

I then wrote a professional letter and attached it to the back of my chair, making a pointed, albeit professionally polite request that no one adjust my chair after working hours period, and that no one sit in that chair unless business needs compel them to do so.  (I don’t want some loose cannon in amongst my desk and computer, with the potential to make me look bad, mess up my email, jeopardize the job, etc )

It is taped to the back of my chair.

And still this morning the chair and arms were again into the stratosphere

Our strategy tonight was to hide the chair in the departmental “food cube” the unoccupied corner reserved for smaller potluck foods, or Friday’s muffin, donut, or bagel departmental treat.

If the chair is raised up, in the food cube, dragged back to my cube and raised up, or someone has moved another chair into my cube, then this will be serious…

We’ll see.