It is no secret; most people are most product when they have a clean and organized workspace to work. However, that is not always the case. Not everyone works well in a clutter-free environment. This year on National Clean Your Desk Day (January 9th) don’t automatically assume your employee’s desks are dirty, just because you need a mess free space to be the most productive. Everyone works differently and we want to break it down for you.
This year, why not use National Clean Your Desk Day as the perfect time to get to know your employees. Use this time to learn about their work habits. This can be a great team bonding experience for everyone. A person’s desk can say a lot about how they work and where their strengths are.
Everyone knows the employee who is always willing to talk. If you are having a rough day, chances are you have stopped at their cube or their office to vent it out. Chances are this person has candy or chocolate at their desks for you to munch on while you are there. If they don’t have candy, they most likely have pictures of their family that act as conversation starters. These people can serve as the emotional support team for your organization because they are always willing to listen.
Just like the employee that is very welcoming and nice to everyone, everyone has experienced the person you tend to avoid. Chances are they have a broken chair for you to sit on or no chair at all in their cube or office. You may have wondered why they haven’t asked for a replacement chair and this explains it. As far as decorations go, there probably aren’t many if any. But this person will get work done for you because they are typically not easily distracted. This is probably not someone you want to loan your stapler to because they most likely won’t give it back.
This person’s desk is just like walking into their living room. We are talking about pictures of their entire family, pets, and luscious green plants. There may be a coffee cup, water cup, and snack drawer somewhere in the space. This is the type of person that likes post-it notes with expressions on them; as well as, a family calendar. When you need a motivational pick-me-up, this person should be your go too. This person is different than the sit-and-stay desk because they will not always give you endless time. But if you need a quick motivation, chances are they have a post-it note expression waiting for you.
We all know the person at the office who always seems to have the latest gadget. Chances are their desk appears a little messy as they have a lot of charging cords and devices laying around. Despite all the charging cords, chances are most of their key devices are wireless like keyboards, phones, and their mouse. This is someone you can stop by and quickly ask a question about the latest products on the market and get an honest answer.
Everyone knows that person who leaves very little on top of their desk. It seems to always be clean. If they spill they immediately use a cleaning cloth to wipe it off. You won’t find any coffee rings on their desk.
This is probably the employee that you go to when you have a question about anything related to business. It could be how to get a small business loan, what the latest company numbers are, or what the latest production issues are.
You can see this person’s cube from a mile away. Some may even call it a fire hazard because they have so much paper. Not only do they have work papers but also older newspapers, half-filled soda bottles, and empty take-out containers.
This employee probably has a hand in everything but may not be good at completing anything. You need this person though because they force people to think about getting rid of things. This employee can save the company money as you go through a team clean out, they will question everything about usability. Thinking about throwing out your old mouse because you got a new wireless mouse? They will probably be the one to suggest setting up a desk with the old mouse for the new intern starting in a week.
National Clean Out Your Desk Day is the perfect time to get to know your staff. Understanding why their desks are the way they are can help you in knowing who is the right person for you to go to for different tasks. Need someone to volunteer for a committee? Why not ask the hoarder? Have a funding problem? Ask the person with a ship-shape desk to teach you how to get a small business loan.
Everyone at your office adds value to your business. Hopefully, you have at least one of every kind of desk on your team. But if you don’t have someone to teach you how to get a small business loan, let us help so that you can focus on organizing your office to fully reach your potential.
