Have you heard of desk-bombing?
Up until today I hadn’t.
An article posted by the Financial Times discusses the newest fad in the office world.
What Is Desk-Bombing?
Desk-bombing is the act of approaching a colleague at work unprompted, un-announced and without warning.
Is Desk-Bombing An Issue?
I’m a proud desk-bomber. In fact, I would say most people at Altair would admit that as well. Desk bombing gets shit done. It’s as simple as that. And the notion of having to schedule meetings for every talk around the office seems bizarre to me to be quite frank.
It does the post the question of where does the fear of desk-bombing or being desk-bombed stem from?
But Covid-19 has created a fear of Desk-Bombing
I think the fear has stemmed honestly from Covid-19. Communication skills are an essential part of office life and this was interrupted with teams phone calls and full time baby sitting children. And if you’re a graduate who’s just entered the world of work, you won’t know any different than emails and scheduled teams calls. Can we really expect people to tackle desk-bombing head on? I suppose that’s up for date. From a personal perspective I say get on with it but if I stick my empathetic head on for a second, maybe there’s more that needs to be done.
The Financial Times article discusses about a company that is spending up the $3,100 a day on training their staff who are fearful of phone calls. This poses the wider question if companies should be incorporating this within company wide training.
What does LinkedIn think about Desk-Bombing?
The general LinkedIn consensus is MORE DESK-BOMBING. William Robins, Editor at City Amplify says: “I am a desk bomber. Also a coffee machine highwayman. Truly, getting Teams meeting can be a struggle – next Tuesday any good? – but that same person will happily chat in the kitchen.” Similarly, Peter Weatherhead, Director of Programme Management at Peacock says: “Guilty as charged; I’m a desk-bomber! But what’s the point of being back in the office if you can’t go and speak to people?”.
Is Desk-Bombing inadequate office behaviour?
So, desk-bombing? Do it. Offices should be open and collaborative spaces where people feel comfortable to actually talk to other people and not hide behind a desk or email account. Set an example to your peers and desk-bomb the hell out of them.
By Megan O’Brien,
Content & Digital PR Manager
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