Irritating (and Rude!) People in Your Office, Part 2

So, all of you were paying attention to my missive on polite bathroom behavior weren't you? I know you were, of course, but now we turn our attention to another office annoyance--The Hoverer. The person who comes over to your desk/area and leans in over your shoulder to see what you are doing on your computer. The dreaded eagle-eyed office busy-body.

We have one here (who doesn't) and it has caused me to set my screen saver to come on, password protected, within 1 minute of inactivity. When I don't feel The Hoverer before he or she gets behind me, inevitably I am faced with the discussion of whatever I may be doing. "Oh, what is that your doing???" or "Sending an email, huh?" or "Why is your Excel sheet formatted that way?" Whether work-related or not, unless you are my boss (who is most likely watching over my screen remotely...Hi Boss, you look lovely today!), you have no right to observe or comment on what I do at work. Now I know The Hoverer usually doesn't mean any harm and is usually either bored with their own work or just trying to make conversation in a very awkward and rude fashion. We will forgive that type of Hoverer.

The type of Hoverer we cannot forgive though, is The Hoverer who will spy on what you are doing, keeping track in some dirty, foul-minded log, with which he or she will report to the boss. The corporate form of "snitching," a disgusting pastime. Now we don't have one here, but I have heard of friends who have encountered this type of Hoverer. My only suggestion for you, besides the above computer locking precautions, are that if and when your boss calls you into his or her office and confronts you with The Hoverer's observations politely note that while you appreciate his or her diligence, perhaps it would be more effective for The Hoverer to spend more time at his or her own desk, doing work, than monitoring the actions of everyone else in the office. Reader's, particularly those of you at work, watch your backs!