Posted: 2/13/2003 3:45:48 PM EDT
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A situation just came up at work that I'm not happy about or comfortable with and I would like some input to put things in perspective for me. I work in a company connected to the state government. It a very politicaly correct, touchy feeling type place, where senority and politics are what drive things instead of what is best for the company. Today I found out our department is moving again. It's a small department only 5 people. Three males and two females. Currently my manager and the sr. programmer (female) have offices. The sr. programmer needs dead silence to work in and often shuts the door. She can retire at anytime but could easily end up working for 6 more years. She also gets cold quite a bit and shuts the door to her office to keep in the heat. I have a cube right outside her office and we get along very well. I also need quite but not complete quite. The building we are getting moved to is tight on space. Today the director for our department told us our new desk locations. Here's the problem. I am supposed to share an office with the female sr. programmer. The office is designed for one person. Putting two people in it will make it tight and there will be no privacy. Questions: Is it appropriate to put a male and female worker into a single office? If she needs silence to work in, that won't happen with me sitting two feet behind her typing on the keyboard, eating, and moving my chair around. My main concern is not my lack of privacy but being a bother that prevents her from getting work done. With me in the office she won't be able to close the door...if she did it would look really bad. Privacy would be a big concern, especially with difference between males and females. There would be none in the office, everything she said I would hear loud and clear. If she needed to setup an appointment for a female issue...I don't even want to go there. Same if she were to get a call back from the doctor. Again I don't even want to go there. It's already caused a strain between us, as I asked her what she thought of the new setup and she didn't have anything to say. Which means she is really pissed off about it. I can't work effectively in that type of environment. Would I be out of line if I flat out told my boss, as I'm planning to do tomorrow, that this will not work and I am not happy about the situation? To complicate things, no one enjoys the company of the other female programmer. If I were moved out of the office and the other female moved in, the sr. programmer would be even worse off...but it wouldn't my situation anymore. Advice? |
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Quoted: Sometimes you can't win. See how it works out before you have them try to reconfigure everything. I should probably add this. The move is a month away. They currently don't have anything setup for the move. So making a change now would be much easier then once everything was setup and we were moved. |
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if she wants the door closed while the 2 of you are in there then yes YOU NEED TO GET OUT. For your sake and the employers. all it takes is one pissed female to make a complaint and you both are screwed. if there is no door you may just have to suck it up. You can always do a les nesman and put tape around your desk and call it "walls" mike |
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Quoted: Try to CORRECTLY focus her anger: Towards DA MAN that stuck you both in this awkward situation! That's already being done by both of us. Unfortunately that man is a woman who keeps everyone under her thumb, in the dark, and just issues orders without following the proper chain of communication. Trust me on this, there is no way to make a woman, especially this on, look bad at this 75% female touchy feely company. What she says goes and that's final. That's why I want advice before I make an issue out of this. I don't want to over react and screw myself. |
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Quoted: if she wants the door closed while the 2 of you are in there then yes YOU NEED TO GET OUT. For your sake and the employers. all it takes is one pissed female to make a complaint and you both are screwed. If we were in there the door would never be closed, that's for certain. Having the door open isn't an issue for me. But if the sr. programmer needed quite it would definately bother her. Trying to concentrate and work when someone 2 feet behind you is fuming mad, just won't be productive. Since this place is so touchy feely, I'm wondering if I can't use that to my advantage. The company would hate to have employees "uncomfortable" and we both definately would be. |