- Millions of Brits have almost a stone of clutter on their desks - - The average British office worker loses 1.5 working days every year looking for missing documents - Almost a half of people don't think keeping a tidy desk is necessary - Over a fifth of office workers lose important documents at least once a week
It may be as simple as moving a dirty cup at the end of the day, or recycling old paperwork, but failure to keep on top of messy desks is leading businesses across Britain to lose out on an estimated 35.7 million* working days every year as office workers waste hours searching for lost documents.
According to new research by technology brand Brother, the average UK desk is weighed down by almost a stone of clutter and it’s leading to stress, spats and even official warnings from bosses.
One in ten office workers say they have been warned by their bosses about the state of their desk, and one in eight claim to have even argued with colleagues about their clutter.
While a stubborn 46% of office workers don’t believe it’s necessary to keep a tidy desk, over a fifth polled confessed to losing important documents at least once a week as a result of a cluttered desk, and nearly 20% have even mistakenly thrown them away.
Office workers in retail and professional services have been found to be the worst culprits, with many of them being weighed down by a huge pile of clutter on their desks.
A third of office workers blame a lack of time for their failure to keep on top of clutter. It seems that British workers feel in need of support, with a PA topping the most wanted list to help improve day-to-day business, and nearly one in five suggesting that having someone to organise their physical documents would help.
Professor of organisational psychology, Professor Cary Cooper, who analysed the research, said: “It’s astonishing that people are actually losing business as a result of just being disorganised. During this downturn, there are fewer people in the workplace, with heavier workloads and feeling more job insecure. To deal with the overload, they need to prioritise their workload and better manage their inbox and desk to perform more effectively. Just five minutes of organisation a day could lessen the number of workers being reprimanded by their boss for their messy workstations, and limit the one in eight arguments being had between colleagues about clutter. Keeping a tidy workspace helps to keep a tidy mind, meaning that workers can get on with the job in hand.”
Phil Jones UK MD at technology brand Brother adds: “This year marks the 25th anniversary of our office labelling machines and so we commissioned this research to understand more about how British office workers manage their workspaces and the role of labelling in a heavily digitised work environment.
“While it may seem like a simple task, keeping your workspace and documents organised is dropping down the list of priorities, despite it having a significant impact on productivity.
“Documentation in paper form will continue to exist whilst Baby Boomers and Generation X remain in the workforce, so there’s at least another two decades of well organised document management required. With businesses of all shapes and sizes wanting to do more with less, being productive is a strong attribute to demonstrate within the workplace, and to potential employers, as it leaves room for more creative thinking and innovation.
*35.7million is based on the average office desk worker spending 12.46 hours per year searching for missing documents. This is the equivalent of 1.5 working days per worker. Based on the estimated 23.8million office/desk workers in the UK, some 35.7million days are lost each year.”
