I'm sorry....but it is community property. If someone is covering for you they need to make it so they are able to function. They should put it back the way they found it. If they don't; don't get upset. Remember they are "helping" you out and your desk is technically not yours anyway.

People shouldn't rearrange your personal things unless it is absolutely necessary for them to do the job. However, if you have people using your desk, you should keep things like notepads and pens handy and easily available. Speaking from personal experience, when I'm covering the front desk and it's very busy, it's frustrating to not be able to find supplies I need. I try not to mess up the front desk any more than necessary, but if clients are waiting and the phone is ringing, you shouldn't have to go looking for things, or move other things out of the way to do the job. Since this seems to be an ongoing issue, you should get feedback from your co-workers on the best solution to the problem that will work for everyone.

The "Front Desk" in most organizations is community property whether we like it or not. If you feel someone is deliberately trying to mess up your things then you should talk to your boss about it. If it is just someone who is filling in for you and is trying to find materials to do the work then you should talk to them person to person and let them know it bothers you and ask them if they would try to keep things as you had them or put things back where they found them before you return from your break or lunch. Let them know that this is what works for you. I am sure they would not like you going into their office and moving things around for your convenience if you were only there for an hour or so. I have found the best way to deal with a situation like this is to politely talk to the person(s) responsible for the actions.

Post up a frinedly sign saying you appreciate the coverage and to please return items to their originals places. People aren't always considerate of someone else space so you need to remind them it is your space. I send e-mails with a big goofy eye ball telling some of our schedulers that I'm watching them when they make the same mistakes over and over and then it stops. It's just a friendly reminder not directed at any one in particular but covers anyone that sits in your area.

I sometimes fill in at the front desk. Having worked that position in the past, I try to leave the desk the way I found it. When I take over for the front desk person, she takes a moment to tell me if she's expecting someone/something I'll need to watch for, shows me where things are kept that I will need (or leaves them out for me), and asks me if I have any questions. It's simple and doesn't take long.

I think this raises a good point: that when someones 'covers' for you and moves things around, it wastes your time trying to get things back in their space.

Although the 'front desk' may seem to be 'community property', it really isn't. This is someone's desk. Yes it belongs to the company, but an employee needs to be able to function and work well if they can make their space personal.

The person who is helping needs to be respectful and return things back to their spot when they are through. Yes, they are helping you, but they don't need to move things around. I can understand if they need to move notepads, pens, pencils, but if the person moves the keyboard, mouse, phone, chair and the like, they need to be respectful and return things the way they were so you can function.

I think it's perfectly fine to tell the person who's covering for you that you don't mind them moving things around as long as they return it to their spots. But first, let them know you appreciate their assistance.

I totally agree with what you are saying --- elements of the desk is one thing but you don't "ever" go around on someone's computer and start messing with it --- that to me is the kill zone. I have worked with computers since their birth and have found very different ways to use my computer than other people --- if they messed with it ---- it could take me days to get things back where I need them to be --- NO NO --- don't touch the computer !!!!!!!

The front desk is not community property. When I fill in for someone, I use the computer, the phone, directory, and message pad which is all that's communal. Everything else is not mine as it is not my space. Therefore, I respect her space and her things.

We have a situation at our office that calls for different people from different departments to rotate through the Front Desk for 1 to 2 hour periods each day. They work along side the permanent Front Desk staff, filling in where/when/how needed. Some (not all) of these folks deeply resent doing this, feeling it is 'beneath' them to do the work of these front line staff, although senior management instutited this rotation to assist with the high volume of customers coming through the front door, and also famiarize each and every counselor in the building of the challenges the Front Desk staff encounter. It can be difficult, at times, to deal with resentful co-workers regarding something they see as unimportant. Tact, and management backing, are necessary to keep the "team" working together, rather than feuding with each other.

One thing I learned a long time ago, is to 'kill them with kindness'. The more irritated I am at the condition of my desk when I return, the sweeter and sugarier I become. "Oh, thank you so much for rearranging my desk. It probably worked so much better for you while you were working in my space. The only thing I would ask, just a little teeny favor, really, is . . . could you put things back for me? That way, I too, could work more efficiently when I return to my space." I just keep it up, getting deeper and deeper into the 'sugar' each time I have to ask the same party to respect my space. Eventually, they give in, probably just to shut me up. I know this is passive-aggressive behavior, but, hey, sometimes behavioral modification takes down and dirty tricks.

Speaking from the perspective of the person doing the "filling in" during lunch: I had to cover someone who was very disorganized and messy...I'm a neat freak! I cannot function with someone elses' food crumbs, spilled drink stains, sticky keyboard, etc. This person had piles under, and on top of her desk, sticky notes everywhere including taped to her monitor, keyboard, desk. She also bit her nails; gross!!! Each time I relieved her for lunch, I spent 5-10 minutes cleaning her workspace with antibacterial cleaner. I tried to keep things in the general area that she had them and make myself a clean spot.
She respected the fact that we had different styles of functioning and I did the same. She was good at her job and actually knew where things were among all of those stacks! We both communicated and accepted the differences betwen us. The front desk of any business is the first impression for visitors and should always be clean and organized! Despite the fact that it is a personal workspace, it is also a shared area and the focal point of most companies. People spend the majority of their waking hours in their work area. Picture workspaces like temporary homes: you wouldn't want the place to be a disaster when someone comes over and visitors shouldn't snoop around or move your stuff so you can't find it!

No, it is not appropriate for someone to come into your working space and rearrange. When someone comes into your house, are they permitted to "literally" make themselves at home? I really don't have any suggestions for resolution for this one, but I can completely understand how you would feel that you are being disrespected and that your space is being violated. Makes you wonder if they feel entitled to go rummaging through your things as well.

Good luck with this one. Would love to hear if you find a proactive resolution.