minoanmiss: Minoan men carrying offerings in a procession (Offering Bearers)
minoanmiss ([personal profile] minoanmiss) wrote in [community profile] agonyaunt2021-10-25 01:56 pm

Ask a Manager: My Coworker Is Living In The Office



I started a new job two months ago. My role is a senior one that reports directly to the CEO.

I quickly discovered that one of my coworkers — who is also a manager — is living in the office. He would technically say that he lives in his van. However, his van is always parked in the office parking garage and it is clear he uses the office for all his personal needs. I live near the office so have driven by at all hours and he is always here! He cooks all his meals in the office kitchen and has a couch in his office. He will also post a sign on his door that says “out of office” but he is actually in his office, just not working.

I think this has gone unnoticed because most people are still working remotely, but I am coming in every day and it is very uncomfortable. Sometimes it appears he has just woken up.

I don’t want to make waves because I am so new, but I also can’t stop thinking about this. Should I tell someone or just let it go and hope leadership notices soon?

A complicating factor to note — our CEO was recently let go and we are in the middle of a huge leadership transition. The organization is very chaotic right now and there is not clear leadership.


Well, it’s possible someone in leadership knows and has okayed it. Who knows why — most obviously, of course, he could have lost his housing. Or he could have split from his partner or simply decided this was more cost-effective while no one else was coming in anyway, or who knows what.

But it’s also possible that no one knows since most of your coworkers are still working remotely. And if that’s the case, the organization really does need to know — for safety and legal reasons, if nothing else. If they rent the space, someone living there could be a violation of the terms of their lease. It could be a problem for their insurance. And if something happens to the building in the middle of the night, someone needs to know a person is in there.

If you weren’t in a very senior role, I’d tell you this is above your pay grade and, especially as a new hire, to leave it alone for now unless it were causing problems for you (like if you were running into him half-clad in the mornings or unable to use the office fridge because it was stuffed with a month of his groceries or so forth).

But you’re in a senior role that reports to the CEO. Even though there’s no clear leadership right now, is there anyone above you or in a relatively senior operations-type role? If so, it’s worth mentioning it to that person — not in a “get Bob in trouble” kind of way, but framed as, “I wasn’t sure if anyone knew about this since he and I are generally the only ones here, and it seemed like something I should mention to someone.” That’s not making waves; if they’re fine with it, they’ll let you know that … and if they’re not fine with it, they’re unlikely to shoot the messenger.

It does risk making waves for Bob, of course. But you can’t start living in your office and expect your colleagues not to mention it. That’s not to ignore that he might be in a difficult spot — but again, there are legal and safety reasons the organization needs to know he’s there.
melannen: Commander Valentine of Alpha Squad Seven, a red-haired female Nick Fury in space, smoking contemplatively (Default)

[personal profile] melannen 2021-10-25 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
It sounds like he's open about living in his van, so probably the next step is to ask him if he has the company's permission to park his van overnight? You could even phrase it as "Wow, it's so cool of the company to let you park here all night."

If the answer's yes he does have permission (and the answer might be yes, depending on the company), there's probably nothing else to be done. If the answer's no, then you can bring the van being parked overnight up with someone. (Which might result in him being given permission, or might result in him having to park elsewhere, which would presumably make it less convenient to use the office all night too.)
Edited 2021-10-25 19:45 (UTC)
raine: (Default)

[personal profile] raine 2021-10-26 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
Depends on what the company's lease on the property says, though. One of the places I worked had a private lot, but no overnight parking was allowed without incurring a penalty on the lease. Everyone assumed it would be OK, and I was charged with reading the lease to figure it out. When I found the clause, my boss was like, "Well, if you hadn't read that, no one would've ever known." I was like: "Um, that's not how this works."
melannen: Commander Valentine of Alpha Squad Seven, a red-haired female Nick Fury in space, smoking contemplatively (Default)

[personal profile] melannen 2021-10-27 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, could be parking the van overnight is against the company's lease, in which case you've got an easy way to deal with the problem without it being anyone's fault!

Some places will let people park overnight though (Walmart is the best-known example, around here a lot of churches and small businesses will if it's someone known to the church) & if he's in the kind of industry that valorizes things like "van life" and bad work-life balance, he may even have been given enthusiastic permission to park the van & maybe even use the bathrooms. If he's got official OK on the van, getting him out of the building at night will be tougher.