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?

Put some kind of barrier up at the end of your desk so he can't push it down.

Tell him to have some respect.

Get a box and keep piling it in then put it on the floor next to his desk.

It's another version of manspreading.

Have you told him why you want a clear space? I need my desk to be clean and tidy in order to feel like I can concentrate so this would really bother me. But I think some people are stubborn and if it wouldn't bother him he might just think you're being ott. You shouldn't have to explain it of course, but it might build empathy?

Is his desk big enough for him to do his job at without needing to move onto yours? Is his desk disorganised or full of papers or is it full of things actually necessary. If he is disorganised then that's the issue your manager needs to address, if he doesn't have appropriate storage then he needs to ask for drawers or book time into his diary to do a clear out/ scan and shred. This is what your manager should be addressing not just the things on your desk.

I think you need to start addressing it as soon as he does it, if he sets something down you need to say sorry you can't leave that on my desk, please find somewhere else for it.

Spill coffee on it or break it, he’s been asked once and he’s ignored that, whatever happens after that is his own fault

Exactly 💯

Dont keep moving his stuff back, dont keep accepting his manspreading. Put a stop to it, confront him.
What do you hear when I ask you
Why do you continue to do this

You're not his maid, his tidier, his room for spreading. Your not his mother or his PA,

You dont owe him anything, You dont owe him space, you dont owe him accommodation, you dont owe him time or energy, hes a colleague, a peer. Nothing more, dont people please to accomodate him.

Your time, energy and space is AS VALUABLE AS HIS.

Make his stuff disappear from your desk.

this!

eta: or just put his stuff by the shredder/in the bin and feign ignorance...

In this context him being upset is a good thing I think, it opens the door to an honest conversation about why he is spreading his stuff over two desks and why he feels it was “wrong” if you to put it back.
so keep putting it back onto his side and use his upset to have a proper discussion.
is it personal things that really need to stay at home or does he need a bit of support around organising his work space?

Are you the one in training, OP? Was he there before you and used both desks as his own?

Cardboard box, dump all his stuff in it, put the box well away from the desk

Do you have cats? :)

Agree - I’d also tell him that anything else left on my desk will be considered abandoned and go straight into the bin.

I was just thinking of this.

He may fall on one. Pierce an organ.

What a twat. Just keep pushing it back. I also would ask Why do you keep putting your stuff on my desk when I have asked you not to? Is there a reason why you feel entitled to continue encroaching on my space? I would then reiterate that you do not want his stuff on your desk and that moving forwards, if he places anything on his desk, you will no longer be returning it, it will be going in the bin as you will assume that he doesn’t want it.

I would throw in bin. 🤷‍♀️

Seems reasonable if he persists.

Also if he needs that much paper or other things, I'd question his ability to do the job. Given how much work is done electronically.

But there is someone next to him! He's not entitled to more space, and unless he has severe learning difficulties he must realise this. He can't just annexe the OP's desk. Does he think he's Vladimir Putin?

Agree with making a barrier. You can actually buy desk partitions, but you could knock one up really easily and cheaply, get bookends and prop up files, or move your inbox if you actually have one and it's not all computerised.
Other than that, everything that was placed on my desk would be tipped onto the floor under his, or into the bin. I wouldn't be stacking in neatly anymore. Push it off the back (preferably into some difficult to access crevice).

Next time you catch him manspreading, sweep it theatrically onto the floor or into the bin.

We were once in a hotel with a pool. We finished and went to shower and change and this guy who had inexplicably taken his suitcase to the poolside had dumped it in one of the only two cubicles while he went for a lengthy shower. There were plenty of lockers and other places to leave luggage.

I moved it out so me and the kids could get changed and he boo-hooed at DH about how valuable it was when he got back; we'd just finished changing by the time he arrived.

DH later went to use the toilets in another bit of the hotel and he had spread the contents of the case all over the bathroom, DH was struggling to find a bit of floor space he hadn't covered.

Does your colleague have an Invernessian accent?

I had something like this once, with a colleague, who was very deliberately crossing boundaries /playing a personal dominance game. The next time he did the action when there were other colleagues around to witness it, I was ready. I took hold of his hand mid action and held it still, made eye contact and asked him very loudly if he had comprehension or memory problems, as he had been asked not to do what he was doing multiple times, both by me and boss. He was gobsmacked, stuttered, never did it again. I think it was the combo of challenging the physical action by physically taking and controlling his hand, and the making of a scene with witnesses - who were politely baffled but could see my point. Ive never been sure if his power play was conscious and deliberate, or subconscious and automatic, but he didn't like it being witnessed by colleagues either way

Just put it back, straight away. Can you make any kind of barrier using say, filing trays, to clearly mark the edge of your desk?

Hang a carrier bag from the corner of the desk and if he moves things on to your desk, pick them up and drop them in the bag...........

I had this once. Make a wall of cheap cardboard magazine files, filled with all your very important stuff. (Bonus if heavy books to reinforce the boundary). Innocent, innocuous, yet effective