Virtually Smart Ltd evaluates how a desk or workspace can affect your productivity & how you are perceived by peers, colleagues & clients alike.

“Your desk or your workspace & how you ‘keep’ that space can say an awful lot about your personality & character. Whether you have your own desk at work, in your home study or you ‘hot desk’; how you lay out your daily work zone can speak volumes about the person you are.

I believe I have borderline OCD & I’m actually OK with that. I have never liked clutter & my home is always clutter free. I don’t like ‘things’ which need a home, so when it comes to birthdays or Christmas & I am asked what I would like as a gift; the stock answer is “anything, as long as it is not a thing which needs to be put on something else” Even as a teenager, my bedroom & my place of peace, was clutter free. Yes I had ‘things’ then, but my desk, particularly when I started my A’Levels, was most definitely a work space, not an extension of my character.

Fast forward a few years & here I am at another desk. The desk in my office. My office is built into my partners motorcycle workshop. The walls are white. I have three motorcycle related pictures on the wall behind me & my desk, my workspace?…well, it is ordered & only has the objects & tools I need to undertake my various jobs.

I believe a lot of my need for order came from my teaching years. As a teacher you are constantly processing information, even when you finally get home. In light of this, my desk would be ordered, clutter free & everything had a place. Colleagues would comment on my ‘tidy’ desk, but for me, this sense of order allowed me to focus & concentrate on the vast amounts of teaching responsibilities my days would entail.

Not all teachers were like this though. On occasion if I was called to cover another class, I would struggle with desks which were literally a mountain of papers & books. Other desks which had personal affects, photos, fluffy toys, etc would be equally difficult for me to work at. Although I appreciate we are all different, I couldn’t function correctly in these environments & without disrespecting any former colleagues, I found this clutter & ‘busyness’ a considerable distraction.

Therefore, when I sit at this desk I call ‘work’ I do often ponder about what our workspaces say about us? Does the way we keep them say something about the people we are?

Traditional offices & office spaces can be sterile & hostile environments. However, many modern & forward thinking companies have done away with this stark throwback to the past & actively encourage their employees to use their workspace/desk space as a reflection of their character & personality. Google is a prime example of this idealism.

Google has over 70 offices in more than 40 countries around the world. ‘Lazslo Block, Google’s HR boss explains in his book, “Work Rules!” ” that the key to a successful workplace is constantly innovating, experimenting, and keeping things fun. With this in mind, Google employees are actively encouraged to create their own individual workspaces & whether this means having their office chairs in a ball pit, or their desks piled high with luminous Troll dolls, they find a way to be productive through their own individual marking of their territory.

To explore the theory of how a desk or workspace can reflect a person’s character or personality, I have undertaken an evaluation into how certain industries might influence how a desk or workspace is kept, by evaluating four workspaces.

Desk Study 1. Our first desk reflects it’s owner perfectly & the industry they are in. This first desk belongs to a VA & the objects directly link to the passions of the person who owns it. There is a lot of personal expression here & in addition, a sense of comfort. As this desk is the workspace of a VA, this makes sense, as most VA’s work from or in their homes, there can be a connection to the expression of the self in the home, directly reflected in the workspace.

There are plenty of bright colours here, but there is no clutter. This then also shows that although the owner of the desk might enjoy the bright colours & the film characters which reflects their personality; this is also a highly organised, professional & focused individual, with everything they need to be successful around them.

Desk Study 2. The second desk in our study is a perfectly functional space, with no personal trappings to distract. This desk is in a large office space & is shared by four employees. The folders, papers & information sources, keyboards & phone directly at the finger tips of the operators, show that this a place of work & not a place which has any personal connections.

This office is not in a house & this is therefore where the employees attend during their work time. This desk is situated in a modern office ‘cube’ which has been placed inside a large warehouse space. These offices are bespoke, contained spaces, which come with all of the fixtures & fittings needed to simply plug in & work. There is a professional & functional air about this work environment, a place to optimise activities & performance.

Desk study 3. The third desk I have looked at is an interesting mix of the first two. Here we have elements of a personal life, with a Dragon figurine hidden behind a patriotic Poppy & cross, which is tucked inside a London Bus desk tidy. These items are kept to the very edge of the desk & contained or put into a ‘zone’. This idea of ‘zoning’ is not new & a lot of office designers use this method to create distinct work spaces, with distinct functions. Zoning is used at desk level too. To adequately ‘zone’ your desk, you will need to fathom how the space works for you & allocate your ‘work day’ items accordingly.

This desk, I feel shows the two sides of the person who works here. We have someone who still needs the connections of home, but also needs to have the clean & clear space. The ‘Thank you’ card & the engraved award, are another telling sign of how the operator feels valued & these physical reminders, can always be a bolster on those troublesome days.

This desk is in an automotive environment where large camper vans are maintained.The environment is very clean & professional, but where the desk has been separated from the ‘hands on’ areas.

Desk study 4. This is my desk. On the day I took the photo’s for the study, I was also writing an article which linked back to my love of literature. Therefore, as you can see & as has already been explored above, this desk is very ordered & functional. The personal items are kept behind me so as to avoid distractions. The fact that my window looks out directly into a motorcycle workshop, is combated by the sliding doors which block out the sound. The copy of A Christmas Carol, was used as evidence for another blog. The thanks you card, is for exactly the same reason as above; it feels good to have that physical representation of a ‘Thank you’. The pictures on the wall are directly connected to my passion for motorcycle, but they are not in my eye line, as this, for me, would be a constant distraction. In my working day, I spend a lot of time reading & disseminating media articles & published papers. My workspace reflects my need for order & as much quiet as I can muster.

With these four very different work space environments in mind, I now pose a question. When was the last time you looked at your desk, your workspace or office & thought “I wonder what this says about me?” Now have a think about how many times a day, a week or a month you have visitors which also see this space? Does it project the correct image for who you are or what your company is trying to express?

The Virtually Smart Ltd ‘Office Rescue’ packages can help you create a balance in your workspace & optimise your productivity.

With an on-site review of your office workings & processes; Helena Parrott of Virtually Smart Ltd, would then draw up recommendations & suggestions for improvements to your workspace.

As part of the ‘Office Rescue’ service, this would include on-site collaboration with your team to de-clutter & streamline the work place & in turn establish systems to ease & maintain a productive working environment. Once the onsite visit has concluded, there would be after visit monitoring for reviewing and tweaking when necessary.

Sometimes your desk or workspace can help productivity & create a sense of focus & calm. However, there are times when a desk or workspace can work against an individual or a team & this is when you may need to take a step back & review what is working well & what barriers are being put in place to hamper the productive & secure environment a work space should be.”

Written by Katy Jane for and on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd.