The Art of Door Holding

Every workday I walk through eight doors between the parking lot and my office. Eight. AT LEAST. The high frequency of walking through doors introduces many scenarios in which I will hold open the door for a coworker. You might be thinking to yourself, "That's... nice of you, Kenrick. But really, who cares? That's just being a good fellow citizen." Sure in an ideal setting, holding the door open is a simple task, and one you should do with regularity. However, if you look more closely, there are MANY variables to the art of door holding. An art I cannot claim to have mastered. Every day I must wrestle with the monumental task of balancing efficiency, courtesy, and my own convenience. To keep things simple, I will ignore worrying about people tailgating, and assume everyone I hold the door open for belongs in the complex.

The basic tenets* of door opening I have honed from my undergraduate days. When you approach a door that swings towards you, you pull it open and give way to the people immediately behind you to pass through. When you approach a door that swings away from you, you charge through and then hold it or at least apply enough force so the next person can pass through. And there is no gender bias.

These decisions are easy to make when the other people are in close proximity or far away. If the person is really far away, then you do not need to hold the door open. The difficulty arises when there is some distance between you and other people. This gray area between close and far is the most maddening of door holding etiquette. If they are far and you hold the door, the person feels compelled to rush or run so that you, the door holder, is not overly inconvenienced by performing this nice gesture. By trying to be nice, you make them feel rushed and troublesome. If you don't make an effort, you may look like a jerk. It's a lose-lose situation.

What do you do if you and another person approach the door at the same time, but from opposite directions? Here, efficiency should win out. The person who pushes the door should have right of way, and the person pulling the door must wait. The logic behind this is as the door is being pulled, the person pushing can already make headway. What if the door swings both ways? Hey! Pay attention! Doors are asexual, okay. Well, then we must hope centuries of civilization will temper the madness that is to follow from such an occurrence.

If there is a long stream of people following behind you, how long are you obligated to hold a door open? What if you are in a rush - are you exempt then? If you are a tour guide, should you take lead more often than not? If you push a door too hard, does its closing momentum make it more cumbersome for the person behind you? Such are the questions that keep me awake at night.

*I do not claim to be an expert of door holding. You may disagree with me at your own risk.