If you only do one thing this week … analyse your desk

Your desk speaks volumes about who you are, and can even mark you out as suitable or not for your company. But you can manipulate your workspace to send out the required message

Desk psychology: 'I am a serious and dedicated worker, not easily distracted …'. Photograph: Alberto Incrocci/Getty Images

Life should already have taught you that your outer clothes reveal your inner being – but you might not appreciate that your office desk is equally eloquent.

Desk psychology is so little understood that those who make judgments about you based on the state of your work space may not even realise they are doing so. But subconscious or not, those judgements are inevitable and enduring, so take a look at your desk and ask yourself what that confetti of Post-it notes and solitary roll of loo paper blare to the world about you.

"You should treat your desk like your skin," says Donna Dawson, a behavioural psychologist who has identified six main types of personality exposed by office work spaces. "Sometimes it can be a sign that you are not right for the company you work for. Take a look at the desks around you to see how yours fits in, and bear in mind you can manipulate it to send out a certain message."

The message that most employers will hope to receive is one of organised, sociable efficiency. Each company has a different work ethos, however, so before you reinvent your image you should work out what your employer requires of you.

In a ruthless City environment the trophy desk will be most effective. "Trophy desks reek of success," Dawson says. The ingredients are simple: a scattering of postcards from expensive destinations where you have spent holidays or conducted lucrative business meetings; invitations from dignitaries; and, casually but strategically placed, the odd award acknowledging sporting or professional triumph. Your desk accessories will be bold and colourful and the desk just messy enough to illustrate that you are expertly juggling challenging projects.

If you are trying to work your way up the corporate ladder, Dawson recommends a neutral look. "You want to be careful what you are giving away about yourself," she says. Wacky mottoes plastered to your terminal and a row of fluffy toys will not convey the dedicated single-mindedness required for promotion, but don't be too bland or else colleagues may conclude that you are inscrutable and possibly untrustworthy. A pot plant and a snap of your Labrador should reassure them that beneath your superpowers you are human.

Perhaps your humanity is already broadcast by a forest of foliage, photographs of your extended family, and souvenirs from your last five trips to Great Yarmouth. You are a doubtless an extrovert and your desk is probably the coffee hub of the office. This is partly good. Heavily personalised desks imply that the occupant is settled and plans to stay, but too much homey clutter can backfire. "Steer clear of bottles of nail varnish, mouthwash, vitamin pills and soft toys," Dawson advises. "It suggests you are more interested in your own image than in your job."

Now it could be that you can't see your desk at all, so chaotic is the burden it bears. The question is whether it is creative or disorganised chaos. The former might go down well in the media industry. The clutter, on close examination, will indicate wide cultural interests and mental agility. "You have to have everything handy, but don't always know where it is," Dawson says. Disorganised chaos – undisciplined piles of paper, mould-filled coffee mugs – speaks less flatteringly. Dawson says it shows you are unable to delegate, to say no or to keep up. "Post-it notes stuck everywhere suggest you have a memory like a sieve," she says.

If you tend naturally towards disorder, the odd ring binder and in-tray might show willing, but you can sweep the worst of the debris into your desk drawer – the "subconscious that nobody sees", according to Dawson.

Increasing numbers of office workers, of course, no longer have a space of their own. This, Dawson says, indicates a ruthless employer. "Hot desking prevents you developing an individuality within the office," she says. "It is a continual reminder that you are just a cog in the machine and mustn't get too settled."

Time then, perhaps, to pack away your personalised mouse mat and lucky mascot and seek out more nurturing climes.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-23