There are a lot of jokes about how a messy desk equals a creative mind. But does it equal a boss who is happy with your work?
More specifically, what story does your desk tell about you and what could it mean for your next evaluation? Most of us believe that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The reality is, most of us do just that.
Imagine arriving at a business meeting to collaborate on a project and your four colleagues are dressed in a clown suit, a sweat suit, a suit of armor and a business suit. Who would you take seriously? Yes, it is a little far-fetched, but you get the idea. The way you formed an opinion is exactly how an opinion may be formed about you and your messy desk, rightly, or wrongly. And that opinion could lead to a less-than-stellar performance evaluation at work.
"In most industries [the cleanliness of your desk] is not an official aspect of evaluations," said Sylive di Giusto, professional image consultant and author of The Image of Leadership. “But when we judge people based on what we see, our brain works on confirmation bias - we look for proof that makes us feel our assessment is right, and we will find it in one's appearance, or hygiene, or desk.”
At that point, the person being judged is left with the very difficult task of convincing the judge otherwise.
"A messy desk is a piece of how you present yourself," di Giusto said. "If you want to tell the story that you are very creative and unstructured maybe a messy desk will help you do that. But if that image is not your story, then don't tell that story."
Perhaps the single most important thing you can do to tell a good story about your work is to get organized. According to the 2011 workspace organization survey by office supply retailer OfficeMax, 8 out of 10 people think unorganized clutter can hamper productivity.
A 2010 study by Brother International, an office products company, supports that theory and reported that "Our collective messy desks and time spent looking for misplaced items cost corporate America $177 billion dollars annually."
So, you may be messy and creative, but is being creative enough to get a top-notch evaluation? Probably not.
Let's say you take on more and more assignments at work in order to further your career, but your desk is a real mess. Your efforts will be counterproductive if you frequently misplace documents, miss deadlines, and arrive at meetings late and unprepared.
Unfortunately, those negative impacts may outweigh the positive impact of your creativity if you are "read" as unable to handle additional responsibility and therefore overlooked for promotions or the assignments that lead to them.
When Di Giusto trains professionals to tell their stories during her image consulting workshops for individuals and corporations, she recounts two contrasting stories about work space.
"I very often see clutter like postage, coffee mugs, paper, souvenirs and excessive pictures. In traditional work settings and open spaces, a cluttered desk tells the story that you can't wait to leave the office," she said. “But, the story of successful leaders is told with one family picture, in a beautiful frame, taken by a professional photographer, with everyone smiling. It's like a trophy. It says: look at what I have done even with all my responsibilities; can you believe it?"
Maybe you won't be able to convince people not to judge your book by its cover, but di Giusto reminds clients: "You are responsible for the cover of your book."
