By Amanda Wallin
I think we all hope that our hard work and our positive attitudes are what people notice most about us in our office, right? While this may actually be true, there are certainly other aspects of us that are reflected or even projected in our office spaces. Can the state of our office impact the way in which we work? Or whether or not people want to work with us? Simply put, YES!
Your desk is not a vessel that is free from judgement. According to an article on salary.com, “your desk speaks for you—even when you’re not there.” Scary, right? That little crumb you left after eating your morning bagel might be lingering. That stack of Post Its that has been accumulating for so long that you can’t even decipher what you wrote on them anymore. Maybe you are a water bottle hoarder (guilty as charged). Perhaps you have an over-flowing amount of pictures or quotes hanging around. All of these seemingly meaningless details are in fact reflecting who you are and how you work.
Depending on the time of year or how your work cycle is set up, our office spaces can be the victims of neglect. It is also possible that since we spend so much time in our offices that we become numb to what our offices actually look like. I’m literally taking a look around my office right now thinking, “where did all this random stuff come from? Why do I have a bag of Hawaiian candy hidden in the back corner?” My next thought is, “did that prospective student I met with yesterday notice that bag of candy? If so, what does that make me look like?!” Ahhh!
The above-mentioned article refers to your desk being part of your personal brand. They go so far as saying that if you check your teeth for food or your clothes for stains, the least you could do is check your office space. Putting it this way definitely sets things into perspective. Not only should we be representing ourselves well in our office space, I would add that we should be showing respect to our employers by valuing our work space. If we want to be taken seriously then we need to present ourselves in such a way and this includes our office space.
For those of you who think your office could use some TLC, I would suggest taking a look at this article. It outlines 13 ways in which we may be missing the mark in our space. Take some time this summer perhaps while work may be a little calmer and look around. A complete re-model may not be necessary, however a refresher could have quite a great impact. It’s important to note that our offices not only reflect us, but they should also inspire us. A quick sprucing up of your office could rejuvenate your work too!