Coworker keeps opening blind which makes it difficult to see my screen

I had a similar problem as well. In my case, the other employee's reason for opening the blinds was to get a bit more light in their corner, where light was somewhat insufficient.

The solution for me was simple: I would close the blind as far as necessary to make me able to see the screen, but it was still open enough let some light through. The next step was obvious: go to management and ask for better lighting.

The main point in this issue is understanding. They need to understand why you close the blind, but ideally, you should know why they open it, too. Presumably, they don't simply open it to spite you, though I suppose that's possible.

Once you understand each others' motivations, you can work out a solution, and if necessary, request better lighting from management or even (very much dependent on work situation) switch work stations.

I had a similar problem, in two different offices. That glare on the screen would turn me blind. At the first office, I told the colleague (who would open the blind), upfront that that glare is straining my eyes a lot. She did close it for the first day. Second day, it was back to square one. I repeated it, every single day. One day, she stopped opening it. No cold wars, no passive aggressiveness. Just get straight to the point.

At another office, I had no option; I requested for a cubicle change stating glare as the reason and it was granted.

If you want something, ask, stating the right reasons.

Move your monitor. Angle it differently on the desk. Get anti-glare covers or an anti-glare monitor. My coworker complains about this all the time, yet he chooses to place his monitors so they face towards the window when he has the option to have them face away from the window. He throws huge tantrums if someone opens the blinds.

Looking at your other posts...loud typing, noisy coworkers...maybe it's time for a career change.

Well, I cannot say if mine could be a viable solution, but since something like that happened to me some 15 yrs ago...

First of all, this is a management problem. I don't know how is the situation in your country, but here in Italy the work environment must respect some level of ergonomy. That's part of the legislation on workplace safety. Not complying could cost an employer a fine.

At the time I worked as a SW developer for a medium size research institution (~150 employees IIRC). I worked, together with other 5 or 6 colleagues, in an open space area all surrounded by glass walls in a position very exposed to sunshine.

There were blinds but they weren'r very effective, even when completely shut. We had been complaining to management for about 6~7 months, but received only vague answers.

It came the day when even some blinds broke (they were external to the building and somewhat exposed to weather), and the situation got fairly worse. Another month of complaints and nothing happened.

Then I did something you usually aren't entitled to do by usual internal network policy, I sent a mail to the internal broadcast address, i.e. I sent a mail to each and every member of the institution, management included!

This mail was written in a very informal, but neutral tone, with the classic "internal info" format: it explained, citing several scientific and medical articles, the short and long term consequences of eye strain, glare and so on. In no way I mentioned the situation in our office. :-)

Some of those articles were also a bit scary (IIRC, mentioning chronic retinitis or some other nasty eye-affecting syndrome), but they were very carefully selected and came from extremely reputable sources (that is, they couldn't be dismissed as "paranoid" or urban myths, especially in an institution where almost 100% of the employees had a master degree and 50% a PhD!).

After two hours the IT manager called me in his office and mildly scolded me.

After two days the maintenance manager came to our office to examine the situation.

After a week we had some sort of cubicle walls installed that screened our work area and workstations from direct sunlight and glare.

After 10 days, top management sent us a mail in which they apologized for the "delays" in solving the issue and gave each one of us a ticket for a fairly expensive free lunch at the internal restaurant!

Bottom line:

I don't know if this anecdote could help you, but sometimes simple complaints are not enough: you must "convince" the management that solving the issue is in the company's best interest.

It is not a problem between you and your coworker. The setup of your screen related to the window is not right. In Europe exists laws against placing screens as you have it. The must be orthogonal to the windows. Not sure whether similar laws exist in your country.

Talk to your company or ask a worker representative, they have to fix this problem.

Did you ask your coworker or did you tell him or just start closing the blinds without asking? Most people would be a little put-off you they thought you demanded it and didn't have the courtesy to ask. It's obvious when the sun shines through, you can't see your screen. Most reasonable people would have no problem with this request, but do not assume you have some sort of right to have the blinds drawn.

Did you offer to keep them open when the sun isn't an issue? Many people benefit from exposure to some sunlight.

If you're going to be away from your desk for an extended period of time, open the blinds.

Work something out and confront them if they don't meet their end of the agreement. And it is an agreement.

As per your second-last paragraph, you have already explained why you want (need) the blind closed to this coworker, yet they persist in opening it. This implies malicious intent, hence I would recommend escalating this issue to management in the hope that you or the coworker can be moved.

You don't even need to mention the coworker and the blind to management - just say that there is too much glare where you're sitting and that since requests to treat the windows have not had a result, you have no other option but to move as your productivity is impacted in your current location.

You manager may be nosy and/or decide to see the problem for themselves and head over to your desk, at which point they will probably notice the blind and ask about it. At this point you can simply state the fact - in a completely non-accusatory way - that the blind isn't a solution because your coworker keeps interfering with it. If your manager isn't completely useless, they should be aware of previous similarly malicious behaviour from the coworker, in which case they will immediately understand the underlying problem and act to solve it (either move one of you, or reprimand the coworker).

If your manager is one of the wishy-washy types who expects everyone to sort things out between themselves "like adults", simply find an empty desk in a better location and move your stuff there. Should your manager object, simply mention "productivity" a few times (maybe throw in hints of going to a higher authority regarding the blind issue) and they will either fold and let you keep your new spot, or actually do something useful about this issue. Either way, you're sorted.

I would just get really riled with the coworker and tell them loud and plain that you can't work with the blind open and to damn well shut it when I come back in the room.

If this doesn't work, get hold of a big mirror, preferably a fresnel lens, and point it so when s/he opens the blind,their monitor melts.

This would be an interim fix until I boot management up the backside with a 'fix this before I call health and safety inspectors' warning.