# Another "career" question.



## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

This forum has a nice variety of viewpoints, and I'm interested in opinions on this issue: 

If you returned from a year-long absence from an office, would you expect to get "your" desk/space back, if someone else was sitting in it? If someone else was sitting in "your" space, would you ask for it back? 

This situation arose in my office. The potential for butthurt is high. Thoughts?


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## jcgd (Oct 30, 2011)

I'm not sure. If you quit, obviously no, but a leave of absence or mat leave or anything like that I would think you should get it back. If the idea was that you would be returning I would expect it was still yours.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

If I really liked the space, I would probably ask for it back (in a subtle way). But with the understanding that I chose to leave, so I cannot expect it back.

It kinda depends though... is this like a maternity/paternity leave situation? Or another type of situation where the employer knew for sure that I was returning? If so, I might think that I should get that space back, and be a little more open about wanting it. And I might get a little offended if I was given a crappy workspace compared to before my leave. And as silly as it is, it does depend on who the other person is.

A year is a long time though.

This probably should have been sorted out when the person left... in fact, if I was the guy who moved in to the space (and if I knew that the old "tenant" would be returning) I would have asked if this was permanent or temporary.

Maybe approach it from a practical standpoint... does location for those two employees make a difference for things like workflow and office politics?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Both times I returned from mat leave, I did not get 'my' desk back, nor my space, mind you I ended up in new roles both times. I would have never expected to have my seat after a year.

Also, when I had staff go on leaves, and for the ones that returned to the same role, they definately did not get their space back. 

I would think if i'ts a compnay where there is a lot of movement, or there is limited space, or if there was a person that filled my space, then no. Short term leaves, or where the is back fill, then yes.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

HR set the returning person up with a new workspace, computer, phone extension, etc. Returning person asked the person sitting in "her" desk to "give it back to her." 

I personally think that the returning person should have approached HR, and not the person sitting in the contested desk. This kind of stuff has the potential to go badly; that's why HR exists in the first place. The returning person may have asked HR for "her" desk back and was told no, and may now be attempting an end-run around this - I don't know.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

MoneyGal said:


> I personally think that the returning person should have approached HR, and not the person sitting in the contested desk.


I agree 100%. She has the right to try to get her old space back, but she's not entitled to it, nor should she go to that person demanding for it to be returned to her. She cut her chances of getting it back by doing that.

edit: Think of it this way: She's getting paid to sit at a desk at work... not the other way around!


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I can understand where said person might be coming from, but I don't think it would be wise to make waves about this. Talking to HR is definitely the way to go. It's actually quite difficult/costly to move people at my work, due to the nature of the phone system, so moves generally only happen if necessary.

Parental leave ensures that you have a job when you return... not the same desk.


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## donald (Apr 18, 2011)

I think this is the employer's fault(above and beyond HR)This should of been all spelled out when employee A left.

It should of been clear(m.o-mgmt's fault for not having concrete guidelines/procedures)
Can't be the first time in co history this has happened.Lack of leadership fr the top.


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## financialnoob (Feb 26, 2011)

donald said:


> I think this is the employer's fault(above and beyond HR)This should of been all spelled out when employee A left.
> 
> It should of been clear(m.o-mgmt's fault for not having concrete guidelines/procedures)
> Can't be the first time in co history this has happened.Lack of leadership fr the top.


I might agree with this, but there are a lot of other variables at play too such as whether the person was returning to the same project/team. In many companies, employees get shifted to different projects or teams at different times, and often move desks to better facilitate communication. Some employees shift desks multiple times a year. Sometimes departments are shuffled to different areas for different needs. So I wouldn't necessarily jump to those conclusions just yet.

I agree that the person should have went through HR and not through the employee sitting there. It's not their fault or responsibility.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

In our company, the returning person was not assured of a place in her old department. All she got was a comparable position in a comparable geography. Same desk? Forget it!

(Is Steeles Avenue comparable to King Street?)


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

MoneyGal said:


> HR set the returning person up with a new workspace, computer, phone extension, etc. Returning person asked the person sitting in "her" desk to "give it back to her."
> 
> I personally think that the returning person should have approached HR, and not the person sitting in the contested desk. This kind of stuff has the potential to go badly; that's why HR exists in the first place. The returning person may have asked HR for "her" desk back and was told no, and may now be attempting an end-run around this - I don't know.



I don't know the details, but the peEson returning should NOT have gone to the person in the desk. Does the new person even have any say in this?

It makes the returnee look petty. 



kcowan said:


> In our company, the returning person was not assured of a place in her old department. All she got was a comparable position in a comparable geography. Same desk? Forget it!
> 
> (Is Steeles Avenue comparable to King Street?)


True, there is only a gaurenteed of something comparable


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## Maybe Later (Feb 19, 2011)

I think it would depend on the workplace culture and what significance physical space plays, if any, in recognizing performance as well as the reason for the absence from the workplace.

I would probably expect an organization to give someone the same office, assuming that it was expected that they would return. If a leave were indefinite, I think all bets would be off. A cubicle, maybe depending on above. A desk in a shared space, probably not.


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## rikk (May 28, 2012)

MoneyGal said:


> If you returned from a year-long absence from an office, would you expect to get "your" desk/space back, if someone else was sitting in it? If someone else was sitting in "your" space, would you ask for it back? This situation arose in my office. The potential for butthurt is high. Thoughts?


The policy was something like "we (HR) will do our best to get you an equivalent position (role, pay, ...) when you come back; if we can't find you an equivalent position within a year, we'll make you an offer which you can accept ... or not." Same position ... maybe. Same desk? Hell no. "Butthurt" ... not relevant ... my opinion.

Surely there is a policy in place? That would be where to find the answer ... for this case.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I like my cubicle, so I wouldn't come back unless I get the same one or equivalent. 

But I certainly don't think the company has any obligation to keep your same desk.


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## newfoundlander61 (Feb 6, 2011)

I would not expect to get my same desk back or ask someone to move out of it. Be happy for the job and sit where they put you.


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## 44545 (Feb 14, 2012)

No.

It's your employer's property and you occupy it at their pleasure. When you leave an office, completely clean it out and clean it up.


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## YYC (Nov 12, 2012)

andrewf said:


> Parental leave ensures that you have a job when you return... not the same desk.


This.


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## pnky (Jul 16, 2012)

Where I work, we "hotel" every day so we are not even guaranteed the same desk the next day, forget a year later 

This kind of takes time to get used to but eventually makes you a more disciplined and somewhat detached person (there are benefits of being detached, but thats a different discussion).


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## Pennypincher (Dec 3, 2012)

I went away twice - once for a maternity leave and once for leave without pay for 6 months. I got my office back after the maternity leave, but with a slightly different role. The person who borrowed my office while I was gone had to move to a cubicle and she wasn't pleased, but she was unliked in the office so it made me smile. Meawhile, some of the other people who started after me moved into offices with windows while I missed that opportunity. It usually worked by seniority. 

After the 6 months leave without pay, I came back to yet another role at the same level and had to move to a different office because it had to be closer to the new role's group and I fell back to the bottom of the seniority list. 

I think it depends on the company culture as some say, and on your boss. My boss was very specific about allowing people back their original work space to the best of his control.

Eventually I had to move again and I volunteered to take a shared office as I knew I would be eventually leaving to another job. Some people definitely freak out about office space and make a big deal. People have to learn to adapt. I now work in a low wall cubicle with my boss behind me and 10 other coworkers watching my every move. I like it better though, believe it or not, as the type of work I do requires us all to be in touch with each other. In the offices, a whole day would go by and I wouldn't know what was going on beyond my own walls.


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## CashMoney101 (Mar 6, 2012)

I'd say the only thing this has to do with career advice is as a warning about "what not to do when you get back from a leave of absence". If they had to reassign your desk because you were on a leave of absence, it simply does not make sense to force that person to move desks rather than seat the returning employee somewhere that is already available. Why kill a day or even spend any money on moving that person to the empty desk, when the returning person can move straight into the desk? It makes no sense. The workspace belongs to the company, not the employee.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Yes. I have an update. The returning person went (1) the person who is occupying "her" desk and then (2) the boss, to request that the desk be reassigned to her. The boss took none too kindly to this approach and has said (to me) that he is uninclined to return the desk to the returning person, simply because her approach to this issue was aggressive and inappropriate, in his view.


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## Ag Driver (Dec 13, 2012)

Much like how everyone has their own desk, our company operates by everyone having their own airplane. That being said, No, I would not expect to get the same airplane (my desk ) back. I would however expect a seat and the same amount of income/work available provided this was a part of the discussion for me leaving and my return.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

then there's the story about the catfight in a newly-forming yoga class when a regular returned to find that a newcomer had dared to place her mat on the very spot on the bare gym floor where she had always ... always ... always ... ooh ... omm ...


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Pennypincher said:


> The person who borrowed my office while I was gone had to move to a cubicle and she wasn't pleased, but she was unliked in the office so it made me smile.


Haha. Sometimes it's the small victories that make it all worthwhile.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

humble_pie said:


> then there's the story about the catfight in a newly-forming yoga class


A catfight? In a yoga studio?
Is it on YouTube?
I assume some Lululemon attire is involved...


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

These types of issues are actually _issues_?

If you're gone for an extended period of time, well, things change.

Move with the times... Surely, there must be more pressing matters at hand.

MG, I think you chose the most appropriate word when you said "butthurt".


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## Sherlock (Apr 18, 2010)

Good move by the boss. Why did this person want that particular desk, was it better in some way than whatever other desk they're sitting at now?


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