Does your boss have the right to tell you exactly how your desk at work should look? Is mandated clutter control a good idea? Some British bosses say “yes” to both.
National Insurance office workers in the United Kingdom are the latest victims of an ill-conceived efficiency campaign aimed at decreasing messiness in the workspace. According to Michael Hornsell’s January 5, 2007 article in The Times there is an all out war on desk clutter!
This latest attempt to gain efficiency by standardization goes as far as telling workers that they can’t decide for themselves how to manage their desks. Not the smartest way to motivate staff and encourage creativity. Not only are they given tape to mark exactly where their staplers, phones, etc. should go, but in one location people were asked if their bananas were active or inactive. Active bananas are meant to be eaten immediately; inactive ones belong in drawers hidden away. No lolly-gagging, desk-cluttering, efficiency-sapping bananas are permitted.
While this sounds bizarre, many workplaces actually view mess as an affront to the corporate culture. I was listening to a local public radio station and a person called in to say that, although she was by far the most successful sales person in her office, she was constantly berated for her messy desk. Now if she is the best at her job, why would anyone try to change what works for her? Setting a standard to reign in successful mavericks is a policy that benefits no one. Some people actually work best in chaos.
In strong support of that point, Eric Abramson in his book A Perfect Mess argues that messy systems often bring about better results than overly-organized ones.
As far as I’m concerned, there is no efficiency gain from micro-managing. A boss may think that orderliness must necessarily create a more orderly and therefore more efficient thought process, but as Eric Abramson explains, more limits can actually lead to less creativity and productivity.
If you can’t trust your employee to arrange his or her own desk, than how likely is that person to stretch to his fullest ability when asked to think for himself in his work? Better an inactive banana than an inactive brain!***
New Work Coach Cafe Policy:
Although I had to stop answering individual questions (to preserve my sanity), as always your thoughts and stories are VERY welcome here.
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Yeap, I must agree with the line “more limits can actually lead to less creativity and productivity”. Look at GOOGLE. Their office is actually like their 2nd home, and people don’t like to be restricted when they’re at home.
For me, it’s important to keep a professional and tidy look (including the desks) when the client is coming for a visit…and it also depends on the type of business you’re in. If you’re a technical IT-based or R & D company, then having a messy table is no big deal. If you’re a customer facing, process oriented, servicing company….it’s another story altogether.
But still, an employee should be given enough space to roam…they should only be restricted for a very short amount of time (example, just for a 1 day client visit).
Maybe i should write something about this
You’re right, Alvin. Circumstances dictate how much mess is advisable. But as you also point out, an employee has to be allowed some leeway or there is going to be an effect on productivity – not to mention an atmosphere that people dread to come to every day. Of course, if there is mold growing on the desk or lord knows what else, then an employer-employee chat is certainly called for!
Please do write about this. It touches on so many key aspects of what constitutes good management. Cheerio!