For those of us who work in an office environment, it’s likely we all have a personal desk space that we inhabit. This area, whether we like it or not, is a direct representation of who we are and how we work. Dedicating some thought to its presentation would probably be a good idea. But how do you keep your space day to day? We want to know whether you think a neat and tidy office space is best or if your desk should have papers strewn about, as if you were deep in concentration and work.
There are pros and cons to each approach. Which do we think is better? We’re partial to the neat and tidy spaces because it helps us think and process our workload once it does arrive. But here is a quick breakdown of how we think each space could come off to your coworkers and superiors.
Neat & Tidy:
+ You’re a clean individual
+ You take pride in your desk’s appearance
+ Detail-oriented
+ Responsible and orderly
- You’re not busy and have a lot of freetime
- Too orderly to really get “down to business” when the workload comes
Cluttered:
+ You’re busy
+ Dedicated to job
+ Passionate, immersed in work
- Workaholic
- Unorganized
- Messy
What would you consider your desk? Are you careful to clean up at the end of a busy day or do you let the post-it notes, books, and paperwork stack up around you so your work is easy to see and be seen? And how do you think management reacts to such a desk? We want to hear your thoughts and impressions on this sensitive issue of personal space in the workplace!
(Images: Flickr members Jill Clardy and Josh Liba, licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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my desk looks like a bomb went of 90% of the time... but I try to clear it completely once every couple of weeks, and then let it build up again... wish I could say it happens slowly... it usually looks like a junk heap again after about 3 hours.
*bomb went off, not of
Neat! A messy desk doesn't send a message that you work harder than anyone else, it only sends the message that you are disorganized.
Every superstar I've worked with that is efficient, on top of it, catches issues early (instead of putting out fires) and smart has had a neat desk.
I love the vietemese rooster sauce btw (2nd pic, green cap). I keep a bottle in my office too :-)
Should mention... neat doesn't necessarily mean no papers around. But those papers should be stacked or filed in an organized manner.
I try to strike a balance between these two extremes. Honestly, though, I tend toward cluttered. And then, one day, I can't take it any more, and I throw out 80% of the crap and feel like I own the world. For about two hours. Then it's back to work. Which is a cluttered mess anyway.
Clutter is distracting. And -sheesh- there's just no excuse for over-flowing trash (last pic). That just makes you look disorganized and lazy.
For me, the best way to manage paper is to use file folders for just about everything, even if that means making temporary folders for small active projects. (I use removable file labels, so it's easy to reuse folders.)
My office has a clean desk policy - "professional" during the day and completely clear at night (no papers, laptop locked away etc). I can leave out one photo and my box of tissues.
@island_monkey: Although I keep a very tidy desk, your workplace sounds a little too draconian. Different people have different workflows, and some people have order to their mess. Unless you work somewhere with customers wandering around, I can't see any benefit to having a 'clean desk policy'.
I think a reasonable amount of clutter is acceptable. as for me every monday i hit the ground running (sometimes i dont even have time to eat!) so I spend a lot of time at my desk. I do extra things too (shipping, gift baskets, etc) so sometimes it tends to get a little extra messy. to which i generally clean up at the end of the day (and have been thinking about buying my own vacuum). plus its hard when some people you work with dump all kinds of stuff on your desk (especially when its not yours).
Extremly organized. Hanging file folders have been a saviour, without them, my desk would be awful.
My work desk however, which is a recptionist desk is in between messy and neat. Everyone dumps thier crap on to my desk, it drives me crazy!
Island_monkey... I worked for a company like that too and it was all about branding. It was a high end luxury Italian company and the standards it set for store appearance were consistent with office, stock & warehouse policy. Neatness and order were the culture of the company and that needed to prevail through all areas.
That said, we had a more than sufficient amount of built in cabinets (all around the perimeter of the office) so that everything had a place to be filed away. Most offices don't.