by Libby
Sander March 25, 2019
The physical environment of the workplace has a
significant effect on the way that we work. When our space is a mess, so are
we.
That is certainly true from a simple logistical perspective:
we lose precious work minutes every time we go searching for a lost paper on a
cluttered desk. The same is true for those of us who have succeeded in becoming
paperless at work: one international survey showed that information workers
lose up to two hours a week fruitlessly searching for lost digital documents.
But clutter can also affect us in more indirect
ways. My research and that of others has shown that our
physical environments significantly influence our cognition, emotions, and
behavior, affecting our decision-making and relationships with others.
Cluttered spaces can have negative effects on our stress and anxiety levels, as
well as our ability to focus, our eating choices, and even our sleep. Much of
the research (and much of the public enthusiasm)
around tidiness and clutter is currently focused on the home, but with
workplace stress costing American businesses up to $190 billion every
year in health care costs alone, it’s time to recognize the
role that clutter plays in our work lives — and to do something to clean up the
mess.
Clutter Affects Your Brain and Your Work
You may think you’re not bothered by your overstuffed
filing cabinets or the stacks of paper on your desk. But scientists at the
Princeton University Neuroscience Institute have used fMRI and other approaches
to show that our brains like order, and that
constant visual reminders of disorganization drain our cognitive resources and
reduce our ability to focus. They also found that when participants
cleared clutter from their work environment, they were better able to focus and
process information, and their productivity increased.
A study on the effects of clutter in the
home found that individuals who felt overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in
their homes were more likely to procrastinate. Other research has shown that a
cluttered home environment triggers coping and avoidance strategies involving
snacking on junk and watching TV. While we don’t know if
this generalizes to the workplace, it’s possible that cluttered
offices may produce employees who make poor eating choices during breaks and spend
less time actually working.
Stress
Clutter can also affect our general mental health, making us feel stressed,
anxious, or depressed. Research from the United States in 2009,
for instance, found the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were
higher in mothers whose home environment was cluttered; elevated cortisol
levels sustained over time can lead to anxiety and depression. (Interestingly,
it might work the other way, too. Researchers in the U.S. examined the
interplay between stress and workplace clutter and found that stress and
emotional exhaustion causes workers to delay making decisions and to keep more
material for all their ongoing tasks within easy reach: hence leading to
messy workspaces.)
Our relationships with others can also be affected by our
clutter. In one study, participants with messy desks were
perceived to be less conscientious, more neurotic, and less agreeable. Such
perceptions of an employee are likely to negatively influence the way that
others interact with them, and may have negative consequences for their career
progression.
What Can Be Done?
Regularly tidying your workspace, rather than letting
things accumulate, is the tried and true way to keep the clutter at bay. Avoid
letting things get so bad that you start cleaning as a form of procrastination. If you work at
home, maintaining a designated workspace can help create a boundary between
work items and home items.
For teams and organizations, establish regular “spring
cleaning” days with pizza can create social interaction and support around a
task that most people don’t enjoy (Marie Kondo aside). Consider instituting
a clean-desk policy to govern the tidiness
of shared work spaces. Work with your IT team to provide support for employees
in the form of tools to manage online documents, as well as clarity on what
should be kept and what can be discarded. In doing so, organizations need to
strike a balance between practical and security considerations, and keep in
mind employees’ need for self-identity and autonomy.
Finally, keep in mind that clutter isn’t always bad.
One study has showed that messy desks can make
us more creative. The findings suggest that neat, ordered environments make us
more likely to conform to expectations and play it safe, while messy ones move
us to break with the norm and look at things in a new way. So, while a totally
pristine desk might signal a lack of creativity, a very messy one may send
unfavorable messages about your work ethic and personality. Keep things on hand
that are needed for current projects, but resist the temptation to hoard.
Libby Sander is an
assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Bond University Business
School, and Director of the Future of Work Project. Her research examines the
effect of the physical work environment on cognition, affect, and performance.
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