prairie dogging
Office heads popping
Prairie dogging describes the action of repeatedly popping one's head up over a cubicle wall or partition to see what's happening in an office, much like prairie dogs emerging from their burrows to survey their surroundings.
The term captures the comical synchronicity when multiple coworkers do this simultaneously in response to a loud noise, interesting conversation, or workplace commotion.
When the CEO walked through, everyone started prairie dogging to get a look.
Partitioned office workspace
- coworkerFellow employee
- heads upAdvance warning notice
- peekingFurtive quick looking
- popping upAppearing suddenly, unexpectedly
periscoping · open floor plan · interruption · distraction · standing · workspace · desk · monitor
Social African mongoose relative
- ground squirrelBurrowing rodent species
- burrowAnimal's dug dwelling
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- sentinelGuard who monitors
lookout · vigilance · alarm call · predator · hawk · standing upright · watchfulness · sentry
Systematic visual examination
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- watchfulnessCareful, sustained attention
- alertnessActive mental awareness
awareness · periscoping · lookout · patrol · checking · guarding · overseeing · scrutiny
cubicle
Partitioned office workspace
popping up · periscoping · open floor plan · interruption · distraction · standing · workspace · desk · monitor · partition
meerkat
Social African mongoose relative
- ground squirrelBurrowing rodent species
- burrowAnimal's dug dwelling
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
sentinel · lookout · vigilance · alarm call · predator · hawk · standing upright · watchfulness · sentry · warning
scanning
Systematic visual examination
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- observationAttentive watching or remark
- watchfulnessCareful, sustained attention
alertness · awareness · periscoping · lookout · patrol · checking · guarding · overseeing · scrutiny · attentiveness
prairie doggingkeeping one's head down
Deliberately remaining unnoticed
hunkering down · lying low · keeping a low profile · staying put · ducking
prairie doggingtuning out
Deliberately not hearing
deep work · zoning out · disengagement · tunnel vision · concentration
prairie doggingkeeping to oneself
Staying socially isolated
antisocial behavior · isolation · disengagement · staying in one's lane