We’ve reached an interesting point in the evolution of the work from home saga.

In 2020, pretty much every white collar worker started doing their job from home out of necessity.

But even as that necessity started to fade, we realized it’s kind of very stupid to commute all the way to an office every day just to sit at the same laptop we have at home, so workers started showing a strong preference for keeping the practice in place.

Now, WFH has become so normalized that apparently apartment complexes are offering office spaces IN the buildings as a perk.

We’ve almost come full circle. Kind of. We’ve still eliminated the commute, which is the big thing.

But what new protocols and etiquettes will arise as a consequence? Take this story for example:

WIBTA for asking a guy why he always takes the largest room in the office?

I live in a large apartment building with a business center for all the WFH people.

It’s moderately used, but never super full.

I work remotely for a small non-profit and spend most days there.

We recently hired someone who lives nearby, and she often joins me in the business center.

As someone who has mainly worked from home for a long time, I actually love this.

It’s well set up for WFH people.

There are six individual call pods with desks/outlets etc.

They are basically never all full.

There are a few tables and couches out in the open space.

And there is one conference room with three chairs and a bit more space.

This is where my coworker and I would often sit.

Sometimes other people get there first, which is NBD, it’s first come first serve.

But since the office isn’t any one company, we’re lacking some rules that might make this situation clear.

However, for the past 2 weeks, every day when I go down there is the same guy sitting there alone.

He works there, alone, all day.

My coworker and I often cram into one of the individual pods to take calls so we aren’t being disruptive out in the open.

But WIBTA if I ask this guy why he is always using the 3-person room alone?

If he had another person there, I wouldn’t mind, but it feels wasteful of the space.

What IS the etiquette here?

On the other hand, I could be wrong because my coworker technically doesn’t live here, and we use the business center many days.

It is also first-come, first-served, so he isn’t actually doing anything wrong or against building policy.

Let’s check in with the comments:

The reviews were mixed.

If we’re talking rule-breaking, there’s only one culprit in this story.

So, like, technically…

All that said, I’m no stranger to making work use of shared spaces, and I always go out of my way to take up only as much space as I need.

To do otherwise does seem extremely inconsiderate, all rules aside.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.