Odd work habits and excellent work or good work habits and

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...mediocre work. Guess which one goes over better in the workplace?

Between ADD and an inborn stubborn, skeptical streak, I have a hard time following "THE RULES". But I am deeply committed to quality in my product and my services.

I have recently had a change in management and the new manager is very--well, let's say "involved"--much more so than his predecessors. I've had to put up a mirror at my desk because my (built-in so I can't rearrange it) furniture is positioned so I have to sit with my back to the door. I used to not feel uncomfortable with this arrangement for the most part, but now I can't concentrate because I'm always looking over my shoulder. (my door is a large sliding glass door).

Should I just give up and go through the motions until the moving eye fixes on some other poor soul? I've been at this place for a long time and I don't interview well, or I'd have quit when it started to get boring.

Are they happy with your work?
If they are, I'd say just continue as you've always done.

In my personal opinion, odd habits and good work alsways top the alternative, but others probably will disagree.
However, if you have been with the company for a long time and they have figures etc. of your work, they probably know you are odd but good.
A change in management would probably tell you if they want you to change instead of directly fire you.

Be yourself is all I can offer.
Good luck,

It's been my experience that quality matters very little to employers, so long as it meets a certain passable minimum. They are VERY concerned over work habits, and tiny office nuances like being early for everything, breaks are never long, bathroom times limited, doing the same as everyone else, getting along with people, smelling nice, smiling, meeting (NOT exceeding) quotas, not eating at desk unless others are too, etc.

The book, "The Peter Principle" explains this very thoroughly and very accurately. When one is no longer truly competent at performing their job, they start measuring by other standards - it's no longer about getting work done, it's about how smoothly the office runs.

It's a crying shame, but I've painfully learned that's just the way the world works - at least most of the time.

What's the point of this mirror? So that everyone who walks past can see you and what you are doing? Seems kind off odd to me.

Seems to me that the bigger the company you work for, the more "rules" there are. Depending on what sort of company it is, of course. I'm glad I work for a software company. Most of the people around me are geeks so everything is kinda casual, nobody watches over my shoulders like that.

But isn't there anywhere you can complain about this? In an anonymous fashion?

Blue Max;
Seems like the way or society works. Leaders think they know what's best, and gets off on telling others what to do. Came over an article about how they work over at Github. Really makes me want to work there. Or somehwere similar.

It's so I can see who's walking behind me. To paraphrase Carl Sandberg,:

The boss comes in on little cat feet.
He stands peering over my shoulder on silent tiptoes
and the goes, "Ahem!"

I don't know for certain as I can't know your boss, but he might be just trying to get to know you. Some books I have read mentioned the importance of the morning walkaround and the chitchat to getting things done. I try and do this as a result, to get feel that I like them and their work.

Should be work product first. Of course, being disruptive and making it difficult for others to get work done is a problem, but how often does a quiet, focused employee do that? Beware of shiny offices. It's a sign that the management is more interested in cosmetics than productivity. Co-workers will be far less accepting of any deviation from their norm. I speak from YEARS of learning to work in such organizations, and finally deciding that life was too darn short to try to fit in with the popular kids. The STEM sector is less concerned with the playground harmony of professional settings.