Ask the expert: It's weekend work for parents and party time for their kids

Q: I work in a large, open-plan office. Many of us have more work than we can handle and we stay late or come in at weekends to get through any backlog, sometimes bringing children.

I can usually tell when children have been in because my computer has been used, my office chair needs to be adjusted and there are sweet wrappers in my rubbish bin.

I find this a bit annoying and I'm concerned that they could disrupt my personal files.

A: Assuming that your employer permits children on the work site (and many have OSH concerns about this), you still have a reasonable expectation that your work space is not disturbed. You may wish to find out the company position on this before you proceed.

There are a number of steps that you can take. First, perhaps you can raise this issue directly with the staff with young children and see if you can get some agreement about not using your desk.

If the concerns are shared with other office staff, perhaps there is some way you can all meet and agree a way that doesn't offend those with children but still safeguards your work spaces.

It may be that you can all put together a collection of play items, books and other materials for the small visitors so they have an alternative to boredom that is even more attractive than your desktop.

More to the point, you should be securing your work each night anyway, whether there are children about or not. Your computer should be password-protected and the CPU and monitor should be switched off when you are not using them.

Most desks and file cabinets have locks, and they can secure your personal possessions and files when you are not in.

If you really want to be sure the children (and others) do not access your PC when you are not in, you can unplug your mouse and keyboard and file them away on the weekend, but I'd say that this is a last resort if nothing else works.