Hot desking is supposed to mean no one owns a seat, but that doesn’t stop some people from acting like they do.

So, what would you do if you booked a desk fair and square, but you were told to give it up because someone higher up considers it theirs? Would you just find a new desk and let it go? Or would you stick to the system and keep your spot?

In the following story, one employee finds himself in this situation and doesn’t want to give up the seat. Here’s the full scoop.

AITA for refusing to give up a hot desking seat the GM thinks is “his”?

My workplace uses a hot desking system where everyone has to book desks in advance. Bookings open a few weeks ahead, and no desks are officially assigned to anyone.

I only go into the office 1–2 times a week. My team day is usually Friday, and it’s fairly quiet, so on those days my team (about 10–15 people) tends to book desks in the same area to sit together.

About 6 months ago, a new GM (not from my division) started sitting in that area and seems to have become very attached to a particular desk.

The new GM messaged him about the desk.

A few weeks ago, I unintentionally booked “that desk” because it was next to my colleagues and there were visitors in the office, leaving limited seating options.

The day before, he messaged asking me to “release the desk.”

I politely asked for a reason and whether I could still book in that area (I wasn’t sure if the visitors were exclusively using that area), but he never responded, so I kept the booking.

When he arrived at work, the guy was sitting at the desk.

The next day I arrived and found him sitting at the desk I had booked. I asked him about it, and he said he messaged me yesterday. I asked why he didn’t respond, and he said he was busy.

I ended up finding another desk on the other side of the floor, but I was annoyed he didn’t apologize or give a proper explanation. I saw that the same desk was available in a few weeks’ time, so I booked it.

Fast forward to this week, this Friday, I have booked “that desk.”

Now, the GM’s assistant is asking him to release the desk.

Today, I received a message from his exec assistant asking me to “kindly release all future bookings and refrain from booking the desk he usually books.”

Her justification was that, as part of the leadership team, he needed a desk with a screen that faces away from the rest of the office.

The thing is, it’s a quiet day, so there are multiple desks on the other side of the floor that would meet that requirement. Also, desks aren’t officially assigned, and again, this is where my team is sitting.

AITA?

Yikes! It sounds like it’s first-come, first-served.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit think should happen in this situation.

This person thinks he should let it go.

Here’s another reader who suggests he think this one through.

According to this comment, he should escalate the issue.

Yet another reader who thinks he should tread lightly.

He should think about this.

On one hand, he’s right, but the other guy is higher up, so to keep the peace, he should drop it.

If you liked that story, check out this post about a group of employees who got together and why working from home was a good financial decision.