Q: I have a coworker who is loud, obnoxious and a slob. He is so messy that I need to rearrange my desk but he won’t move his stuff. My boss said for me to move it after he leaves. Will this create a conflict? ~ Dan from Colorado
A: Dan, if your boss said to move the desk while he is out, MOVE THE DESK. Just be extra messy before you actually move it; coffee cups, excess paper, lots of folders, purposely sloppy. When you make the move do your best to keep your coworkers stuff on top of his desk in the same order when you move it so it is less offensive for him. Then ONLY IF HE ASKS- you can say, ” I was just following xyz orders and cleaning up / reorganizing my office space so I can work more efficiently.” It makes it sound like you got into trouble- which you didn’t but if your co-worker has half a brain he will get the hint and possibly clean his own space.
Apparently you have a dominant coworker and if you act like a silent doormat he will walk all over you. Although you need to remain a team player, you can limit your exposure to him. When he leaves for the day move your desk like you were told but plan it out and have all your stuff ready to go. You may need to invest in a screen / divider, put it between your desk and his, make sure the desks are face to face and push them together to create some kind of divide. Buy a large but not too bushy plant to also place on the side of the desk to create a divide between your desk and his. Purchase a small stereo yourself with a headset- that way you can tune him out when he is being obnoxious and he can have his space AND you can have your space. Also, small fans or the free standing ones work wonders for eliminating excess noise 
and then you can blame it on being hot. In winter- get a heater. lol
Remain polite but BRIEF when speaking with him: Good Morning, Afternoon etc and then GET BUSY. Avoid having conversations with him at the cooler and the lunch room… GET BUSY. Even if you have to fake it. Excuse yourself, go to the bathroom, take a walk, put on your headphones but avoid him as much as possible. Only engage him over business, if he starts complaining cut him off and say ” I need to you to focus on xyz or speak with xyz directly to clean it up because all of your complaining does not solve anything.” Every time he complains- you either repeat the above phrase or excuse yourself and GET BUSY until it sinks in. If you really want to limit your exposure to him -but you have to work together on projects- then send him an email to set up a regular weekly touch base meeting, once a week for thirty minutes on Monday or Tuesday. This forces you two to focus on business only and limits your exposure to his negative chatter. Just remember, be polite, be a team player, keep your sense of humor, always be the diplomatic one- especially in front of the boss and GET BUSY. The less “personal conversation / gossip” time you have with him or spend listening to him, the better. By creating your own space, you can stop being concerned with “his poor performance” and focus on your own so you can get a raise or a promotion.
