Joining the ranks of ‘quiet quitting’ and ‘loud leaving’, we’re now seeing the introduction of ‘desk bombing’ to the workplace. But what does it mean and should it be a cause for concern with HR?
‘Desk bombing’ refers to the act of a colleague approaching your desk for conversation when you’re not prepared for it. The idea is that, similar to being ‘photo bombed’, you’re in the middle of already doing something when an unexpected coworker appears.
As a lot of businesses have returned to work in a hybrid or flexi-working style, employees are spending less time together in-person. In some cases, therefore, they may be taking their eagerness to socialise when they are together in the workplace a little bit too far.
Connor Campbell, business finance expert at NerdWallet explains this phenomenon:
“Over the past couple of years, we have seen a range of new terminology used to describe workplace behaviour. From quiet quitting to zoom fatigue, the pandemic has led to a variety of additions to the business dictionary.
“Now that more workers are back in the office, we are seeing more instances of ‘desk bombing’ – describing the sudden appearance of a work colleague at your desk, and an uninvited conversation that you perhaps might not have been ready to have.
“The term is a play on the common phrase ‘photo bombing’, and follows the same idea that it’s an unexpected and often unwanted experience. In the same way that a photo could be deemed ruined after a ‘photo bombing’ incident, the belief here is that you could be ruining someone’s work day by ‘desk bombing’ them.
“As businesses have come back to the workplace, whether full-time in the office or as part of a hybrid scheme, some staff may be becoming over-excited at the chance to socialise with their coworkers in-person again, whereas others have become accustomed to working alone and may not welcome this interaction.
“Whilst some in the media have branded ‘desk bombing’ as an overreaction to simple workplace interaction, this could potentially lead to negative knock-on effects in the office.
“In the workplace, it could lead to workflows being interrupted, emails that were in the process of being written getting forgotten about, or could possibly even be a way to try and side-step office grievance protocol.”
To help HR management and business owners get ahead of this latest trend and prevent any disruption in the workplace, Connor Campbell has shared his tips to stop ‘desk bombing’ becoming an issue in the workplace:
Schedule time for socialisation
Naturally, a lot of employees are excited to be back in the office, whether it’s full-time or as part of a hybrid schedule. For many, the office holds some of their most enduring friendships, and they will, of course, be eager to see those friends more frequently again. Whilst having employees walking around the office from desk-to-desk to socialise isn’t ideal, there’s no way to completely block social interaction at work - nor should you want to.
Instead, employers should set aside time in the day for their employees to have non-work-related conversations, particularly if employees are only in the workplace a few days per week or even per month. This can be achieved through communal five or ten-minute breaks.
Having some compassion for employees that have spent a long time apart and are still spending extended periods of time away from one another due to working from home will go a long way in helping prevent them from losing focus during the day when they’re supposed to be completing tasks.
Reintroduce workplace protocol
Whilst most ‘desk bombing’ instances are excited co-workers having conversations, it’s important to remember that grievances happen in most workplaces at some point. Business owners need to take into consideration that any issues between co-workers should be dealt with professionally.
The rise in ‘desk bombing’ could mean that official protocols are side-stepped in favour of directly approaching the individual that a grievance may be with. This can create unnecessary tension in the office, and can make employees feel uncomfortable.
This can be particularly true for employees that may have developed anxiety disorders during the pandemic, and may now be less comfortable interacting with other people.
As a business owner, it is important to re-establish the already existing protocols for such issues, and create new ones if necessary. Employees that have been working from home for a long period of time may need to be reintroduced to company policies and reminded that there is an expected level of professionalism in the workplace.
Establish work emails
Nobody likes to be put on the spot, which is essentially what ‘desk bombing’ does. When it comes to big workplace queries, these should be dealt with in a professional manner that allows all employees to have the time and space required to constructively answer questions.
A great way for business owners to manage how queries are dealt with is to make sure that all employees have access to a work email account, and that they are all able to contact one another from this email address.
Not only does this help to create a paper trail for future reference, which can be useful if work needs to be revisited, but this also makes sure that nobody feels put on the spot and pressured to have an answer to a query immediately. This is also a great way for employers to ensure that workloads are distributed evenly, and that no one individual is being pressured to complete more work than others.
Utilise team-building exercises
Having spent two years out of the workplace entirely and now being reintroduced to office life in a hybrid or flexible structure, it’s only natural that a lot of employees are finding it difficult to fall back into the routine of working in the office, surrounded by other people.
For those that are struggling with the idea of socialising in the office, the thought of being ‘desk bombed’ can be a real source of stress. During the 2020 lockdown alone, the percentage of people that reported feeling high levels of anxiety rose by 19%.
In cases where employees may have developed social anxiety, people aversion, or even agoraphobia due to extended time at home, the idea of having another person show up at their desk unannounced can be a real source of anxiety and can make coming into the office even more difficult for them.
Whilst it’s important to remember that not everyone in an office is going to be outgoing and social, workplaces rely on people being able to work together, so it’s important that everyone feels comfortable coexisting within the office. Those that may be struggling with socialising with co-workers may need extra support to feel comfortable within the team once again.
A great way for business owners to help with this process is team-building exercises. This can be achieved through either hiring a team-building coach to come into the office and work with staff, or by taking the entire team on a team-building excursion. Rebuilding healthy workplace relationships will help to build confidence in your employees, ultimately meaning that they will produce better work in the long run.
Accept that things take time
Things will not return to pre-pandemic normal overnight, and many businesses are operating in a completely different way now compared to pre-Covid.
Both business owners and employees alike will take time to settle into this new-old routine, particularly flexi or hybrid work styles, and some will have external factors that developed over the lockdowns that have carried on, making this new routine even more of a challenge.
The best thing that you can do, as a business owner, is to make sure that your staff feel comfortable talking to you, or their HR manager, should they have any issues.
It’s unrealistic to expect co-workers to completely refrain from talking to one another in the office, and this would actually lead to an unhealthy work environment anyway, but it’s also crucial to ensure that workplace socialisation is happening in a way that is comfortable for all involved.
In the long-term, as more businesses continue to re-establish themselves in the office once again, co-workers will naturally fall back into or create new routines over time. In the meantime, however, it’s important to support them in whatever way necessary as everyone finds their feet again.
