Work question - do you work in the same office as your team?

[Merryoldgoat]

I line manage two people and we are in the office every day - no hybrid working as such but we can wfh on occasion if necessary.

My team will not stop asking me questions or talking to me about non-work things.

I like them both a lot and they’re good at their jobs but I cannot concentrate with the constant interruptions.

There are no other places I can work unfortunately - office space is a premium.

AIBU to sometimes say ‘sorry I’m really busy today so I’m going to keep my headset on’?

Would you think I was rude?

No, I wouldn’t think you were rude at all.

It’ll benefit them more if you establish more of a firm boundary on when and when is not appropriate to ask questions/start a conversation.

YANBU but I would also add a timeframe for focus and indicate when I’ll be available again.

Not rude at all! You could just start the day by telling them that you’ve lots to crack on with today, so apologies if you’re not as sociable as usual, then put your headset on.

I think as their manager you’ve fostered that culture by not setting boundaries so they assume they can chat about anything. If you change things up you need to be careful about how to do it so they don’t get offended that suddenly you’re effectively changing the working culture.
I’d maybe say I’m keeping my headset on/concentrating more as you’re busy, whilst making sure you remind them you’re happy with the amount of work they’re getting done, or they may worry it’s also a hint at their work ethic!

Ok thank you.

I need to work with them separately on improving their independence which I’m happy to do but at the moment I’m swamped and falling behind.

It’s a very busy office with lots of callers which makes it even trickier at times.