Use status indicators on communication apps (like Slack or Teams) to signal when an employee is in deep focus. This reduces the need for physical blocking behaviors.
If the behavior feels like engagement-bait or a way to get a reaction, the best defense is being as boring as a rock. This Office Worker Keeps Turning Her Ass Toward...
“I started just watching the record store,” Clara told me over oat milk lattes at a café two blocks from her office (which she now walks to via the garden path). “I’d see the owner, this guy named Leo, flipping through crates. Customers would come out holding vinyl like it was gold. One day, a kid danced on the sidewalk to a song only he could hear. I thought, ‘I have not felt that kind of joy in years.’” Use status indicators on communication apps (like Slack
Clara is the first to admit she hasn’t left the rat race. She still processes invoices. She still attends Derek’s tedious Monday meetings. But the pivot has changed her relationship to those things. “I started just watching the record store,” Clara
Speak with the colleague privately and politely mention the need for adjusted spacing or seating adjustments.
The breaking point came during a Q3 team-building karaoke night. “My boss made us sing ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ at 10 PM on a Thursday. I realized I’d rather scrub my shower grout.”
