Most of the time, my office door is partially open. I’ve told my teammates that this means “I’m working and trying to block out the bulk of the ambient noise from the hallway, but please knock if you have a question, and I’ll be happy to discuss it.”
However, sometimes I actually need freedom from distraction, like when I’m on the phone with the Agency Formerly Known as INS trying to straighten out a case which is FUBAR (their error, not ours – don’t ask), and it seems that the person on the other end actually has a clue what he is talking about (as those of you who have dealt directly with that charming agency are no doubt aware, this is an all-too-rare occurrence).
So when you walk in to my office without knocking at that exact moment, it distracts me from the extremely complicated task at hand, and I cease to make sense, and then the INS guy doesn’t understand me, and things get even more hopelessly FUBAR. And then nobody is happy, least of all the poor guy who has been waiting for nearly three years for his green card.
So why the heck did you barge into my office with the reviewed case you’ve been sitting on for 6 weeks, when you can see from the comfort of your own desk that I’m on the phone, and you could just as easily have left the damn thing outside my door, like you did with the other half-dozen things you left for me today? Or if you really desperately needed to talk to me about it, why didn’t you wait 10 minutes until I was off the phone before barging in? AAAARGH!
Look, I’m really really sorry, okay? I just thought it’d be quicker to… hang on, this can’t be about me, I live in a different country!
… sorry. I think I got a bit too caught up in the passion there. Good ranting. Certainly had me feeling sorry. Now stick it all in a Hallmark card and leave it on his desk.
Ahem…her desk. This may be a law firm, but we’re about 90% female. And I don’t think that would go over very well, but that’s another rant, and one I’ve made before.
Wait, I’m confused…was the door actually closed or not? Not that it entirely excuses the intruder’s actions if it wasn’t, since you’ve (assumedly) already defined your boundaries as far as this is concerned. But personally, if I were taking an ultra-important phone call from which any distraction might prove disastrous, I think I’d shut the friggin’ door. Some people interpret a partially-open door (defined, in the case of certain acquaintances of mine, as “a door that is not closed enough for the latch to click”) as an invitation to barge in at their convenience. This may be the wrong idea, but plenty of people have it anyway, disregarding any entreaties to the opposite effect. As such, my office door (back when I used to have one) stayed shut tight.
Clarification: the door is usually mostly shut, but on this particular occasion it was completely shut. In any case, to me even a partially shut door, or for that matter a person sitting in an open office who is obviously engrossed in a phone conversation, at least warrants a knock and/or request for permission to enter. I got none of the above.
Even a note on the closed door may not help for the terminally clueless. My boss, who has a new baby, closes her office door and put a “Please Knock” sign on it, and she’s had people, including her boss, walk in on her. She was using a breast pump at the time.
I’d consider it, but not at the cost of making my client’s case even more FUBAR. (Plus the person in question is my boss.)
We’ve had the same issue with the breast pumping, BTW. (Not with my boss, with the now semiretired Managing Partner. You’d think that after fathering two children, he’d have a clue.)
Notes historically haven’t helped, either. Once when I was under deadline, I put a sign in 3" high red letters on my door that read, “Do not disturb unless building is on fire. Yes, THIS MEANS YOU!” It didn’t help a bit.
Eve if that is so distracting for you, get your self tested for ADHD and get on meds to manage your disorder and don’t take it out on all those ‘normal’ people.
(said somewhat sarcastically, but somewhat true too)
You know, kanicbird isn’t completely wrong. Have you tried ignoring the people who ignore your “please knock” policy? If someone barges into your office while you’re on the phone, just turn around so your back is to them and continue with your conversation. That should give them the message loud and clear that you are obviously already engaged in something.
Ummm, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to be free of people rummaging aorund in the papers on my desk while I am engrossed in trying to get a case fixed that has repeatedly been botched over a period of three years by one of the most incompetent and disorganized bureaucratic entities ever to grace the U.S. with its presence. At this point, the poor family has three sets of applications pending in three different places, one of which is already almost a year past normal processing time, because at least 3 people at the Agency Formerly Known as INS fucked up in a really big way. Trust me, if I recited the entire procedural history of this case, you would have a headache just from reading it.
I’m quite capable of extended periods of concentration, even with background noise; sometimes if I’m engrossed in a book, I completely lose track of time. But some tasks demand my full attention, and this was one of them. I may not be the most normal person in the world, but ADHD isn’t on my list of issues.
If you want privacy, shut the damn door! It seems there are only two states here, door ajar (open) or door closed (closed… duh!) Doesn’t sound like your door is EVER completely open… People can’t read your damn mind. :rolleyes:
Seems pretty clear to me: door ajar, come on in, but it would be nice if you knocked first to get my attention, since I’m usually working on something or another which requires concentration (which would be exactly the same if door were completely open). Door is usually ajar rather than open because there are also cubicles outside my office, and noise form people working in cubicles is distracting.
Door closed: KNOCK FIRST! Why is this so difficult to understand? If I don’t answer, there’s a reason, namely that I’m doing something from which I don’t want to be distracted. If you’d looked at your phone monitor before you got up from your desk, which is about 10 feet from my desk, you’d see that I’m on the phone.
Fuck me Eva! Some people shouldn’t drink! I’m sorry for what I said. Ignore this fool…