Colleague spreading his stuff on my desk

[Notyouthful]

Have asked him many times not to do this. Currently in training so unable to move desks. When he went to the toilet I put all his stuff on his desk. He was upset on returning. Raised this with the development coach and she had a word with him. He still does this.

What are we supposed to do with him?

Just keep moving his things back. What kind of stuff is it, and is he deliberately keeping it on your desk or is he a bit untidy and it accidentally spreads over into your space?

Clearly a variation of man-spreading. Dick.

Keep moving it back. If he's upset, remind him not to do it. Bit of a pain for you though.

Tell him: My desk, my stuff. Your desk, your stuff. Next time, put it on his chair.

Spill coffee on it? Ooops

Why is he putting stuff on your desk … or is it crossing over onto your side ? If so just shove it back or ask for a desk a
separator

How did he voice his upset??

Can you pull the desks apart slightly so there is a gap?
If not ask your development coach for a desk divider.

Put all your desk stuff right at the edge of your desk where it meets hism

OP I would ask him outright, “What do you hear when I say please stop putting your things on my desk?”

He’s either got to say that he’s heard exactly what you said in which case you can ask, “why are you not respecting a reasonable request” or if he claims he didn’t know you can take the opportunity to clarify again for him and check he understands.

I would then follow up with an email copying in a manager spelling out all the occasions you have spoken to him culminating in this last one when you have checked he has understood your request.

This is highly likely to be power play and you need to take yourself out of the game by asserting your boundary. Please don’t sucked into keep moving his stuff back, he’s not worth your energy and it’s probably what he wants.

Good luck!

put anything that lands on your desk that is not yours in a box. Do not let him have access to the box.

Just before lunch, and just before the end of the day, put the box on his desk.

lather rinse and repeat.

It's weird for him to do that in the first place; it's even more weird to get angry or upset when it's moved back to his own desk, rather than a sheepish "Oops, sorry".

I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean. What stuff does he have? How much of your desk is it covering? Do you mean a few edges of his paperwork are coming into your area or he has family photos in the middle of your desk? I’m not sure I’ve ever come across this as an issue - and I feel as though I have dealt with a lot of desk related issues in my life!

What sort of stuff is it?

I might just put anything I didn't need in the bin.... Clear desk leads to better work environment.

I like this!

Id tell him ... if I find things on my desk that I don't need I will bin them.

Power play
Really !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOL

So what is your explanation for his behaviour?

Personally I wouldn’t of moved it back to his desk when he went to the toilet
the time to move it is when he puts it there in the first place

all that said there is a lot of information missing and there might be be a valid reason

what is he actually putting on the desk

I used to be the one with the messy desk (have a clear desk policy now so I have a messy backpack full of stuff instead now!). My colleague used to build a wall with box files between us as there was no desk divider. When I went on mat leave they swept everything into a box and returned the box to me when I got back. I would never have taken offence, I knew it was chaos. Sometimes one of my colleagues would pick up something at random and it would be from 5 years ago, absolutely no reason to keep it. I did clear my desk before I left, with 13 years worth of stuff it took about a week...

Is his desk chaotic? Do other people dump stuff on his desk so he uses yours as overspill?
We need more info

It sounds like he’s deliberately trying to antagonise you so if it was me, I’d play him at his own game. I’d start using his stuff or putting it away in a box or a drawer. If he says anything, cheerfully say “oh it was on my desk so I assumed it was mine/for me”. If he complains about you, claim it was an innocent misunderstanding because the stuff was on your desk. I wouldn’t show any signs of upset, I’d be pleasant bordering on patronising. “Oh dear, I’m SO sorry your pen ended up in my drawer, that must have been SO upsetting for you, oh well never mind!”.

I’m another who wants to know how he voiced his “upset” when you quite reasonably, put all of the things that belonged to him back on his desk. What on earth would he have to be upset about?

How about a light taser each time he does it, gradually increasing the intensity?