To expect my working from home to be respected

I think it depends how well you get on with your parents.
My son acts like an entitled brat in his mid 20s shows no respect, is a misogynist, rude, doesn't do anything asked of him or anything around the house and leaves a mess every time he's in, he's lippy, moody and resents living here and we resent he's still here. He's is a royal pain in the bum.

I can't wait for him to move out and the only thing that makes it bearable is that he's out at work all day, I think I'd have break down if he announced he would be home all day and going to be taking over my office.
By the time I was his age he was 9 I was married and had a left my parents house over 10 years, many parents had children in the late 90s expecting them to be long gone by now but instead they are they stuck with these grown men/woman who seem to think they can call all the shots and make all the boundaries while mum and dad to the line.
No wonder this generation aren't having children they don't fancy what's in store.

Don't say anything else to him.

Get a door wedge so the door can't be opened by anyone outside.

Get some white tac and attach a notice with your working hours saying:

'work calls are active'. I will be available from X time.

Then see if this makes a difference.

Having a barrier and a polite notice might help.

When you decided to work at home, did you have a full discussion with your parents or did you just announce you were going to do it? If there has never been any proper agreement about the practicalities, you can't really complain that the agreement has been violated.

To be honest, it's you dad's home and he obviously doesn't like the way you are using it. If you living there was a happy arrangement, it's rubbish he's so rude to you, but if he doesn't want you having total reign over that room all day, then you need to move or find somewhere else to work.

We do know from the OP though, that after having the problem explained, the father deliberately barged in a third time just to make a point. Then refused the OP's request to discuss it properly and see if they could come to a compromise they'd both be happy with.

So right or wrong, the father's a belligerent little tit of a man. We know that for sure.

Then companies have to make allowances for their employees not working from a professional environment. You can’t have it both ways. We have space for our junior colleagues because they usually only have their bedrooms to work from - it’s not healthy to be stuck in one room.

which is all well good but a lot of companies have downsized their office space and don't have capacity for everyone to be in 5 days a week! Also, employers clearly see the benefit of people having a better work-life balance by being able to do hybrid working.

If you're a junior manager, then in most workplaces you wouldn't have your own office anyway. What you have is better than working in open plan and having to book a room for sensitive conversations.

The OP lives in a rural area. It is highly unlikely she can "just" find somewhere to rent - in rural areas affordable housing is usually in shortage and small properties get turned into expensive air bnbs rather than made available for local people to rent. Where I live there are regular pleas on Facebook from people looking for somewhere to rent which go by with no replies at all. When properties are advertised there is usually a bidding war with potential tenants offering well over the advertised price per month. In fact there is actually no indication from the OP that she is looking to buy, when she says she's bidding she may well mean bidding on rental flats.

In any case what kind of absolute arsehole parents treats their adult child like this? She's not a feckless layabout threatening to impose on them until the end of time, she's got a good job and is actively trying to move out and they clearly have the space to accommodate her.

There was a thread on here just 2 days ago about housing where a large proportion of the replies insisted that when they were saving for their first home they lived with parents because moving out and renting was a frivolous luxury. Everyone on this thread is saying it's an outrage that the OP stayed beyond the second she turned 18 instead of spending an entirely unnecessary proportion of her income on private rent just so her dad doesn't have the trauma of knocking on a fucking door once in a while.

I genuinely can't tell if this is just the usual MN mindless pile on or there are an alarming number of people looking for an excuse to vote with their wallets in 2 weeks.

Realistically though if op is ready to buy, it would be insane to take on a 6 month overpriced probably gross rental which will be just as if not more expensive, wouldn't it?

I was asking the pp. Nothing to do with op.

This. In fairness to the OP, this appears to be a widespread fallacy on Mn.

During covid we had to work from home and that meant there had to be restrictions on a lot of things such as mowing the lawn, practising the piano, which rooms you could go in, calling up the stairs, playing in the garden, playing music, hoovering etc. The problem with home is that it is not actually a work place and having to tiptoe around someone in your own house is irritating. I think it is your dad’s way of saying he has had enough. He is going about it in an immature way though.

OP have you considered only having private and confidential personal meetings on your “in office” days - unless there’s an emergency (or your team are a walking disaster) - you shouldn’t be having conversations of a personal nature every day - save them for the office.

And it’s not unreasonable for the OP to need privacy - it’s all in the way you ask. If she is coming across in a bossy I’m very important - how dare you enter my workplace without permission type way- (very immature management style - I’m not surprised the dad has acted this way. One of the struggles with managing people is that situations arise not unlike the situation the OP finds herself in - she should be managing her dad - finding ways to compromise - you can’t bulldoze in solutions just because you are a “manager” the op has to learn how to deal with people sensitively and her dad will be good practice for her.

Where did I say it wasn’t important?

Things can be important to a person and yet not appropriate to compare to a sex crime.

That's a good point, but I think that the core of OP's concern is that she would like her dad to ask / knock before he interrupts her. To me, doing that would be just basic manners, regardless of the above. If he really doesn't want her working there, then I think that he needs to have a conversation like a grown up.

The difference between those who see her as entitled and those who don’t isn’t reading comprehension, it’s assumptions.

You are assuming her DF set up the desk in the spare room that’s used for storage because he was okay with her using it in a way that meant he couldn’t wonder in and out as he pleased. There’s also an assumption that the parents are happy to have her living back in their home even though their own lifestyle is facing massive changes with retirement that they are needing to adjust to.

Those who see her as entitled are assuming her parents haven’t offered a separate office as well as her bedroom that she can expect to have privacy in. And/or that she has out stayed her welcome and is imposing on their feelings of obligation rather than being welcome and adding to the household in a positive way.

OP’s posts don’t provide enough detail to know where between these extremes the situation lies.

Back in the day rent was affordable, and people weren't expected to wfh. Things have changed.

No, it's only her workspace, making sensitive confidential calls, and which brings her independence and autonomy, and eventually a place of her own. Not important at all.

Yes, it’s his house, but all you’re asking for is a little bit of respect that anyone who isn’t a total arsehole would give. You’re in an unused spare area, tucked away, I bet he never went there before you had your office there? My dad would do the same because he wants to assert his dominance. YAWN. Get out asap OP!

This is her dad and his house; she can have all manner of arguments with him, but he's already shown he isn't willing to give her privacy, so that will only damage any future relationship between them. The things she can control are where she goes to work and to live. It doesn't matter what you can imagine, nor how often you tell OP that she's totally reasonable, the situation will not change unless OP makes a change.

She is in a dedicated office upstairs in a houae, not set up a workstation in the kitchen in a small flatshare. It is only for a couple of days a week. She wants a bit of privacy while on calls. It is a temporary measure until she moves into her own place. Hardly unreasonable. Some people on here really are miserable bastards.

As usual there are lots of people responding who don't have basic reading comprehension skills. Lots of comments about how entitled OP is to take over a room in a house that isn't hers, that her dad as the owner of the house should be able do to whatever he wants in it.

OP has said that it was her Dad himself who set up her desk for her in this room so she hasn't taken over "his office" or commandeered the space without his knowledge or approval. Her Dad rarely uses the room as no longer works, which is presumably why her Dad offered up the room for OP to work in. OP has also said that she is happy for her dad to access the room if needed but due to her sometimes being on a meeting call or being in the midst of a sensitive conversation, could he just knock or have a conversation with her beforehand about when would be convenient. I don't think this is an unreasonable request. I can't imagine being a parent who offered up a room for my adult child to work in and then proceeding to act like a child myself over said room.

You'll need to set all your meetings up for office days if they are unable to provide you with a workspace. If your manager objects, inform her that you need an office space.

Meanwhile - if you can't afford flats you're looking at then you'll need to lower your expectations; a cheaper area, studio not one bedroom, even a shared flat. Back in the day, it was normal for people in their 20s to flatshare, and sharing with peers you are on an equal footing - as opposed to your dad's "my house" attitude.