People who have decorations on their desks are thought to be creative, outgoing, and open to new ideas and opportunities. People at work like these people because they look as good as their workstations.
You care a lot about your relationships. Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, is a psychologist and the author of Better Than Perfect. She says that putting up a picture or two of your family shows how close you are to them and how they motivate you to work hard. On the other hand, a few cute pictures are enough. She says, “If your desk is full of pictures of your family, pets, wedding, and friends, your coworkers might think you’d rather be somewhere else.” Here’s how science says you should set up the perfect cubicle.
Every office worker has a different way of keeping their desk, and some studies suggest that the way you keep your workspace may affect how well you do your job. For example, some people think that a messy desk can help them be creative, while others think that too much clutter can be distracting.
Scott Bea, who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, says that having a messy desk isn’t always a bad thing. All that matters is how comfortable you are with yourself. It might just depend on how you are as a person whether you keep your desk clean or messy. Dr. Bea says that a person with a dirty workspace might just be too busy with their work to clean it.
Business Insider took pictures of desks and then looked at what they showed. The results show that people with busy desks are friendlier and more outgoing. A cluttered desk is a sign of a creative mind that doesn’t get things done. Most of the time, a messy desk means that the person is busy, which is why it is not in order.
People who keep their workstations clean and in order are more likely to be conscientious, which is another word for employees who are reliable, on time, and focused on their tasks. Gosling says that another sign of a responsible person is an up-to-date, used desk calendar. “When I walk into a place, I look for a calendar first,” he says.
A personalized workstation shows not only what the person likes to do outside of work, but also that they are creative and social. They don’t mind if other people know about their interests, so they are happy to talk about them. They may also feel more at ease at work if they can easily get to their own things, and some of their things may help them come up with new ideas.
Your desk at work may say something about you.
Desk clutter is linked to coworkers who are outgoing, agreeable, and friendly. People also think that they come up with better ideas than their coworkers who are neater. On the other hand, people who are messy are less productive than others because they spend more time looking for things than getting things done.
What does it mean to say that your desk is clean?
A clean desk policy usually says that employees have to clear their desks at the end of each workday. For example, this means throwing away Post-it notes in the right way, keeping handwritten notes, and making sure there is no removable material lying around.
Why is my desk such a mess?
All that matters is how comfortable you are with yourself. It might just depend on how you are as a person whether you keep your desk clean or messy. Dr. Bea says that a person with a dirty workspace might just be too busy with their work to clean it.
What does a messy personality look like?
Psychology says that being disorganized can mean that someone is having trouble. If someone is messy, it could mean they have depression or another mental illness, just like someone with OCD might feel like they need to control everything.
Is it good for creativity to have a messy desk?
Again, half of the people who took part worked in a messy environment, while the other half did not. The participants came up with the same number of ideas, but a group of impartial raters found that the people in the dirty room came up with far more creative ideas.
What did Einstein think about a desk with a lot of stuff on it?
Albert Einstein once said, “If a busy desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is a clean desk a sign of?” The Nobel laureate clearly supported cluttered workstations, but he probably didn’t know that his question would inspire scientists decades later… Also, the researchers found
What does a messy workplace look like?
Clutter is a mess of unorganized “stuff” that builds up in your work area. It makes you less productive and may be bad for your mental health in the long run.
Is having a full desk a sign of intelligence?
A study from the University of Minnesota found that geniuses’ messy desks are linked to their IQ. If you don’t spend much time cleaning up and putting things in order, you must be thinking about more important things.
Is a clean workplace better than one that’s messy?
in the study, Giang says that the study “found that it’s best to start a project with a dirty desk and finish it with a clean one.” A clean desk helps your mind focus on order and what you should expect, but a messy environment helps you think of new ideas and be creative.
Should you add more light to your workplace?
The way a workplace looks helps to make it a friendly place to work. Even though each business’s decor is based on a different set of rules, the goals are usually the same: to boost morale and productivity. With nice accents, people who come to your office will feel more at ease.
What can you tell about a person by how clean they are?
Psychologists link cleanliness to mental ease. People have noticed that thinking about cleanliness and order makes us more honest. However, if we feel ignored in our surroundings, we may be more likely to cheat and lie out of irritation.
What does a person’s mess tell you about who they are?
Clutter in the living room may reflect difficulties in your relationships with others and with yourself, but clutter in the bedroom may reflect issues about your sexual identity, fears about intimacy, or gender standards.