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So there are three desks at my workplace, for three developers.

The problem is, right now, we have them arranged like so:

Do you see the problem yet? Well, I'm sitting in position A. and there's another guy sitting in position B. We now and then stretch our legs about a hundred times a day, and in doing so we kick each other. Sometimes, when I am deeply engrossed debugging (or coding or anything) our legs touch and it takes me by surprise, at times I have even jumped up due to it.

I've spent endless hours thinking about how to re-arrange them best and also tried a few different arrangements but it always ends up in being a discomfort to at least two of us.

We don't have much space so we cannot just put the three desks next to each other.

Assuming the area available is more or less the same space as the desk occupies now. How can I arrange them so we don't nudge each other sometimes?

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  • 4
    Why do desks A and B have to abut each other - can you move them away from each other?
    – Roger Attrill
    Commented Mar 7, 2012 at 16:38
  • move B's table out and his chair to the inside so that A and B's desks are facing the same direction rather than towards each other - downside is A can see B's screen but upside is A and B don't gaze at each other all the time.
    – Roger Attrill
    Commented Mar 7, 2012 at 16:55
  • I actually spent 10 minutes drawing out an answer before I realized the question was closed. :( I have the pictures on my desktop.
    – Glen Lipka
    Commented Mar 7, 2012 at 18:25
  • 2
    You could keep the layout but get standing desks. No more stretching!
    – rath
    Commented Apr 27, 2018 at 10:48
  • 1
    Have you tried stacking the desks?
    – Kilisi
    Commented Oct 24, 2018 at 8:10

5 Answers 5

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I will offer you two solutions (woot Balsamiq integration!):

Skew your seating position relative to the desk, if your desks are large enough.

mockup

Turn the desks outward, if you have space, which the mock-up you provided seems to show you do. We do this in my office and it works very well:

mockup

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    Hi, Right now, we are using your first option, as we don't have the space for second one. I really like cdeszaq's idea too, but, I don't think I could try it for the lack of space again! thanks.
    – LocustHorde
    Commented Mar 9, 2012 at 9:27
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You may consider, if you have the space, simply offsetting the desks.

mockup

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If skewing your seating positions per this answer works, that's easiest -- no moving of furniture.

If that doesn't work out, it looks like you have room to rotate the bottom desk:

rotate one desk

I'm assuming that if C in your original diagram isn't bothered by kicking the legs at the corners of the other desks, then no one will be bothered in this arrangement either.

In addition to being fairly compact, this arrangement preserves the property that nobody is looking at anyone else's monitor directly. In addition, nobody is looking directly at anyone else past the monitor.

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You don't need to keep a "square" layout; you can make a triangle:

enter image description here

And in the centre you can put a potted plant, lamp, or something else :-)

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Add dividers at all intersections of the desks reaching from the floor to the desk. That way your feet will hit a wall instead of someone else's feet. This of course will only work if none of you guys are scared of walls, in that case I don't know what you can do.

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    I hate that, the desk across from me is vacant, I'm 6'3 and I currently can't stretch out my legs past a sitting position without rolling my chair back so far I can't reach the keyboard..
    – Chad
    Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 14:29

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