Does your desktop define your dedication to your job?
On the first full day of the government shutdown, the White House released a photo showing President Trump on the phone in the Oval Office, sitting at an empty desk. The photo was widely mocked on Twitter, as foes of the president shared opinions about the president’s work ethic, dedication to the job and more. But for some, Trump’s clean-enoughto-eat-off-of desk wasn’t a sign of inaction or laziness. In fact, it was the opposite.
“A clean desk is a sign of efficiency. It’s a sign that you are working on one thing at a time and that you’re not wasting your efforts being pulled a million different places. It shows organization and purpose,” says James Will, a financial planner in Fort Myers, Florida. “If you have to wade through a desk filled with clutter, you’re probably not going to get as much done because you’re distracted. To me, the clearer the desk, the better.”
Maybe, says Linda Dalton, a medical records transcriptionist in St. Paul, Minnesota, but she says a clutter-free desk may be a sign of a person who spends a limited amount of time doing his or her job. “I’ve worked in offices where people have literally nothing on their desk except for their computer and I would always think this is not a team player. This is not a person who is trying to help others out or doing what they can to help the office run smoothly,” she says. “No one’s asking this guy for help because they know this is a person who does his job and leaves as soon as that little hand hits five on the clock.”
Still, Dalton says she keeps her desk fairly clean. “I get too stressed out when there are piles everywhere, especially in the morning,” she says. “I have a few items on my desk but I do like to start the day with a clean slate.”
All about you
For many, the desktop is essential to their workday efficiency. While there are several professions that require employees to be away from the office for short or long periods of time, those who work in one spot often view the desk as an extension to their body, says Alison Kane, a workplace design specialist in Los Angeles. “You are defined by your workspace. A cluttered desk may say things about you that you don’t necessarily want to admit — that you’re disorganized and that you’re always working in a frenzy,” she says. “But a completely clear desk sends the message that you’re either not too concerned about your day-to-day work or that you do the minimum amount or less each day.”
Kane admits she may be generalizing but insists her point is valid: “You’re judged by your desk, even if it isn’t fair,” she says. “We make fun of the person who has 15 framed photos of her dog on her desk but praise the executive who has one framed photo of his family. What does that say about us?”
Not much, says Will. “I don’t know why people need to broadcast their life on their desk. That’s my workspace, not a scrapbook. That’s where I do my job,” he says.
Kane insists the items on a desk can carry a certain amount of weight. “I’ve read studies about the effectiveness of something simple, like a bowl of candy, placed on a desk. A bowl of candy can draw people in, give them an opportunity to say hello and maybe chat about a few things that aren’t related to work,” says Kane. “A drawing from your child does the same thing. It’s a conversation starter, a glimpse into your persona outside of the office.”
A desk is just a desk
“I have plenty of conversations with people at work and make plenty of small talk,” he says. And when I saw that photo of Trump’s desk and read all those people ripping it, I came to work on Monday and I took whatever else was sitting on my desk and put it in my bag and brought it home.”
Will says those items included a photo of his wife standing on the Brooklyn Bridge during their vacation last summer, a small stress ball he would roll around his desk when he felt anxious, an unopened bottle of Scotch he received from his boss after an “exceptionally good quarter” and a small bowl of quarters he’d use at the vending machine in his building’s lobby, “even though it takes dollar bills and credit cards.”
When he unpacked his briefcase that night, he explained his thought process to this wife. “I told her it was just a way to get a little more clarity and yes, a little bit of a way to support President Trump,” he says. “She’s 180 degrees away from me politically but she said it was fine. And then she saw that picture of her on the bridge and she just stared at me, so I brought it back to work on Tuesday. It’s back on my desk.”