Door open, ears closed!

After a few weeks of office sharing with a friend of mine, who also joined with me, I was moved to the office of a "more experienced" colleague. Being in the same function, it was told that this will allow better interaction and performance. As a new joiner, all you got is trust in others and watchful eyes to learn and adapt quickly. In the previous office, we used to keep the door closed since that allowed us to focus without distractions from outside, and when we discuss something, others are not impacted as well. Quite honestly, being new, we talked and shared information and ideas all the time. So, others had more danger of getting distracting from us than we had from others. After all, we were new in the system. But in this new office, I was welcomed with a note, "I follow open door policy. This allows others to feel comfortable reaching out to me". I was not used to it, so I was struggling to keep my attention on work, but anyway, I must trust, and so did I.

While I struggled, I saw my colleague working without any impact from the noisy corridor. I thought it is because of being more used to it. My belief turned to a shock after a few weeks when I tried to say something, and with a focus like a yogi, my colleague could not hear that I asked something. Sitting in front, I waved big, and the colleague pulled thus far, not so visible earplugs behind the hairs. My trust in open-door policy shattered in pieces. What kind of open-door vision is that you cannot hear your own office colleague. Years passed since then. While the door remained open for others, the ears never opened for the next desk colleagues. When they opened, they opened for self-need. I reciprocated!