The Surprising Health & Psychological Benefits of a Clean, Uncluttered Desk
by www.SixWise.com
Despite their best intentions, many workers fall prey to
desk clutter. And from behind their towering paper piles,
old coffee mugs, outdated manuals and the swarms of unused
office supplies, they usually shout out the old adage that
"a clean desk is a sign of a sick mind" in self-defense.
In truth, most of us sense that a cluttered desk actually
leads to disorganization, a bad impression on coworkers, internal
feelings of disarray and a cluttered mind. What's surprising,
though, is that a messy desk can actually make you sick --
and there's a new syndrome to describe it.
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Some 40 percent of U.S. office workers say they're
"infuriated" by a cluttered desk.
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Irritable Desk Syndrome
Researchers at NEC-Mitsubishi, a maker of computer monitors,
questioned 2,000 office workers and found many to be suffering
from "Irritable Desk Syndrome" (IDS).
IDS is caused by working long hours at a cluttered desk,
often with poor posture. The combination can lead to both
physical and mental symptoms, including chronic pain, and
loss of productivity. Among the survey's most telling findings
were:
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67 percent said they are more tied to their desks
than they were two years ago.
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40 percent said they were "infuriated by too
much clutter and paper on their desks but could not be
bothered to do anything about it."
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35 percent said they had back or neck pain because
they knowingly had poor posture or an awkward position
while at their desk.
Said the study's lead author and "deskologist"
Nigel Robertson, a consultant at Open Ergonomics, "What
most individuals fail to realize is that desk symptoms typically
escalate very quickly, from persistent discomfort to chronic
pain, which can end a person's career and reduce their quality
of life in a wide range of ways."
Not to mention that working at a cluttered desk adds extra
stress to your life and can eat up valuable time.
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The average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a
kitchen table.
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"Studies have shown that the person who works with a
messy desk spends, on average, one and a half hours per day
looking for things or being distracted by things. That's seven
and a half hours per week," says time management speaker
and consultant Dr. Donald E. Wetmore,
And employers are noticing. According to a study by DYMO
Corp., which surveyed 2,600 bosses worldwide, 51 percent said
they think there's a link between an employee's organizational
skills and their job performance. Which is understandable
when you factor in their finding that every document lost
by an employee (due to a cluttered desk or otherwise) costs
the company $120.
"Like going on a date, first impressions at the office
are often lasting," says Deborah Wiener, an interior
designer and owner of Designing Solutions in Maryland. "We
also make quick judgments about work relationships. You want
your desk to say: 'I mean business and I'm ready to move up.'"
Desks Can Hold More Bacteria Than Toilets
Aesthetics and personal well-being aside, a messy desk can
be home to much more than your old files and memos: your desk
may hold 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat.
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This was the finding of a three-month study funded by The
Clorox Company. Other findings included:
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While typing, your hands may be surrounded by 10 million
germs.
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Telephones had the highest levels of germs, followed
by desks, water fountain handles, microwave door handles
and computer keyboards.
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In areas where desks weren't cleaned with disinfecting
wipes, bacteria levels increased between 19 percent and
31 percent daily.
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Toilet seats had the lowest levels of bacteria.
"For bacteria, a desk is really a laptop of luxury,"
says Charles Gerba, PhD, an environmental virologist with
the University of Arizona. "They can feast all day from
breakfast to lunch and even dinner."
"We don't think twice about eating at our desks, even
though the average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a
kitchen table and 400 times more bacteria than the average
toilet," says Gerba. "Without cleaning, a small
area on your desk or phone can sustain millions of bacteria
that could potentially cause illness."
How to De-Clutter and Really Clean Your Desk
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Take a few minutes each day to go through papers. Throw
away those you don't need and file those you do.
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Invest in color-coded file folders and bins to organize
important papers.
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Keep your desk (and the rest of your office) clean using
the highly recommended PerfectClean
Cloths and Dusters. Unlike ordinary cleaning rags
that simply push dirt around, PerfectClean's revolutionary
ultramicrofiber construction enables them to reach deep
into microscopic crevices and remove everything in their
path: all forms of dirt, dust, hair, dander, and the biological
contaminants too small to see with the naked eye. That
is because at an astonishing 3 microns, the ultramicrofibers
are even smaller than most bacteria (each cleaning cloth
contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!).
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Put only the bare necessities on your desktop. Keep everything
else out of sight in drawers or cabinets.
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Personalize your desk with (a few) personal items such
as a desk lamp, tasteful personal photos or a plant. Devote
one desk drawer to your personal items like snacks, breath
mints, a hairbrush and photos.
Recommended Reading
Dangerous
Toxic Fumes from Six Everyday Products that You Most Want
to Avoid
12
Signs it is REALLY Time to Leave Your Job
Sources
BBC
News: Cluttered Desks Make Workers Ill
Forbes:
Desk for Success
Top
Five Time Management Mistakes
Don't
Let Messy Habits Hinder Career Success
Messy
Desks Breed More Than Dust Bunnies