Clear desk policy or “no Linda you don’t need 10 teddies on your desk you’re a 42 year old woman”

[Strafficy]

I’m at the end of 2 weeks annual leave and clearing out emails.

Member of the team has taken the opportunity of me not being there to start an email thread with my boss about my clear desk policy and how unhappy she is. Boss rather bemused and “can you talk to XXX when she returns”

I started 6 mths ago and have asked all staff in my division to have a clear desk for a number of reasons

1. piles of paperwork everywhere some of it years old and I want them out of the habit of printing everything (one member of staff was printing all their emails!)

2. We are supposed to hot desk and it isn’t fair on part timers when they come in to sit at someone’s desk when it’s piled high with family photos/teddies/half eaten bowls of cereal

3. Frankly some of them are bloody unorganised and needed a kick up the arse

4. confidential information left all over the desk for anyone to see

This staff member has done nothing but complain about it since day 1. I’ve had just about enough now

@MistySkiesAfterRain

Does anyone have a permanent office where a clear desk policy actually works? Not seen it myself.

Yes. Due to the nature of my old job. Yes. We definitely had to have a clear desk policy. Even on zoom no documentation is allowed to be seen at all. Down to the job of who we worked with really.

Clear desk policy is good as long as everyone has drawers to keep their personal belongings.
I do work better when I have a photo of my kids though. It keeps me going when I'm feeling tearful and depressed, I can focus on it.

@HeddaGarbled

I’m a nester. Not photos and teddies, but stationery in the top drawer, folders of frequently referred-to resources in the bottom drawer, list of frequently used codes on the wall in my sight-line (etc). Having to negotiate other people messing up my systems would be irritating and time-wasting.

People are different. I believe quite strongly that it’s wrong to force everyone into your own mould and expect everyone to work well under regimes that are laid down from above and into which they have no input.

That's ok if it's your own desk. Not so good if you have to hot desk.

Number 4 on its own is justification enough and as for the dirty cereal bowls, when I managed an office I banned breakfast at work entirely so they'd really hate me. (People were taking the piss coming in late then pissing off to the kitchen for a chat while they made breakfast, then eating at their desk and leaving their dirty dishes lying around )

This is one of the reasons I took a wfh job. I need “stuff” on my desk to make it feel just a little homely. At my last office we had our laptops in lockers and had to take them out/put them back each day and working at an otherwise empty desk felt like being on some sort of production line. At a former office my desk was never messy, no rubbish, no confidential papers etc. In fact I used to help my messy friend organise her desk! But yes I like a nice pen pot and a plant and a photo. Just little touches so it’s not so bleak.

@ActonBell

I’d also separate out the question of whether people are sufficiently ‘organised’. There are, for example, good reasons for not leaving certain papers lying around but being better organised isn’t one of them. People can have their own systems that work well but don’t look organised to others. So long as they are achieving what you need them to (and following policies like those I mention above) it doesn’t necessarily matter how they go about it.

Yes, I can look very disorganized at times, but there is sense to it, if someone told me how to do it I would not be impressed.

@Sparklingbrook

It's so much easier for the cleaners to do their job of cleaning the desks when they are clear at night. All papers etc put away and no pictures and clutter everywhere.

I spent nearly 20 years in the NHS and my desk wasn’t cleaned once in that time. At one stage we were even having to empty our own bins. The cleaners hoovered about once a month.

It’s an excuse for managers to behave like tin pot dictators and do passive aggressive shit like locking stuff up and commandeering keys. Bloody shameful.

When I worked we had a clear-desk policy even before the hot desking started. This was to make life easier for the cleaners. We all had a large drawer in a filing cabinet so there was no problem.

Stick to your guns, OP. Clear-desk policies are very sensible.

@RosiePosieDozy

Hot desking is awful. Unhygienic and really bad if you're a person who needs routine and to know where you will be working from each day.

The clear desk policy I can agree with. But not the hot desking.

Most employers allow for individual issues. It's then up to people with no real issues not to take advantage of those reasonable adjustments.

And it's far more hygienic as the desk is fully cleaned every day.

The thing that makes hot desking work best is a locker and small budget per person for desk trays etc. Everything then gets put into a locker at the end of the day and brought back out again in the morning.

Most people then automatically reduce paper waste, those that need hard copies can negotiate additional storage.

It's not hard to do once you make the change and most people begin to enjoy the cleaner working spaces.

I have really severe ADHD (diagnosed and monitored by a psychiatrist) and hot desking would be my worst nightmare. I have to have things arranged on my desk in a certain way for my workflow and I'd waste hours if I had to start from scratch ever day .

I have a lockable draw atm where anything confidential goes, but I work on loads of non-confidential things for wide distribution, so it's not like they should be locked away.

Why are so many people eating at their desks?

The 2 days I'm in the office, eating at whatever desk I'm sat on at the time is a treat. The other 3 days, lunchtime consists of wolfing down a sandwich in a layby on my way from one support to another, if I have time for lunch at all that is.

The one time I came in and found the office empty and paperwork everywhere I cleared it all into the locked storage and "accidentally" took their only key home with me. Came in to total panic and while I wasn't popular that day it never happened again

God, I bet they were relieved when you retired...

Each to their own and all that but there's something I find very bizarre about people whose desks are covered in pictures of their relatives/children or dolls etc. Like why!?!

@GreenFingersWouldBeHandy Tried that. Didn't work - if I spoke to them in person they'd always agree but wouldn't remember which one was my desk (big office over many floors), if I tried leaving a polite note on my desk they'd clean around it.

I love a clear desk policy and know a lot of my colleagues build up paperwork to look hever so important & busy. They can also blame it for things going missing/not being done.

Email her your OP - Rinse & repeat.

we dont have drawers now as we are relocated.

we wipe down our desks and dont expect to come back to our own desks necessarily.

we manage
some information is stuck on the wall, most information is on the computer

I eat at my desk. I can't go breakfast to lunchtime without food. (I'm already underweight and walk to the office).
What I hate is that we are no longer allowed to put memos up on our desk. I simply don't have the memory to remember the information unless it's staring me in the face. I waste a lot of time searching through electronic folders for phone lists and codes when what I really need are some coloured post it's in front of me.

@allfurcoatnoknickers

I have really severe ADHD (diagnosed and monitored by a psychiatrist) and hot desking would be my worst nightmare. I have to have things arranged on my desk in a certain way for my workflow and I'd waste hours if I had to start from scratch ever day .

I have a lockable draw atm where anything confidential goes, but I work on loads of non-confidential things for wide distribution, so it's not like they should be locked away.

I think that would be a situation in which you should totally be supported by your workplace.
Similarly, I can't function unless/until my work space is totally clear, so it's important for me to reset to zero before I can begin.

I can't abide a messy desk. I have a biro and a notepad and that's it. I clean my desk every day with a wet cloth and also my computer. Having teddies and photos would stress me out!

Social services. Everything is digital. Any paperwork that does come through is scanned, added to the client record, and then placed in confidential waste bins.

Everyone has their own laptop that they take home each night. Tambour units are allocated for teams to store items such as coffee supplies etc.

It works.

Our cleaner doesnt do the desks. Just as well given the amount of stuff on mine. Not teddies but a lot of paperwork in trays etc. We have our own desks thankfully, some keep them spotlessly clean, some dont.Nobody bothers, work still gets done.

I think the contributions on this thread show how we all function differently, and to get the best out of the workforce, these things need to be addressed.
I would hate to hot desk, and I do think if it's the norm in an office, the desks should be cleared at the end of the work day.
I believe studies have shown that in general workers are more productive in uncluttered spaces, but consideration needs to be given to people such as @allfurcoatnoknickers to help them have their needs met in way way that they can function comfortably.

I don't do well surrounded by clutter, and have left jobs previously due to sensory overload.

@EyebeIbewe

So people have regular desks but you also have a hot desking policy?

Which is it? Because a hot desking policy means a different desk every day.

Quite frankly teddies and family photos on desks wouldn't bother me in the slightest, if it's a regular desk and you've only got some one else using it one day a week.

Confidential material should always be stored as per GDPR guidelines.

Why are so many people eating at their desks?

Lots of work places don’t have a canteen, at our offices the choices are eat at your desk or stood up outside.

@MistySkiesAfterRain

Does anyone have a permanent office where a clear desk policy actually works? Not seen it myself.

Yes but it’s horrible. It feels like you work in a call centre (we don’t), not allowed to leave anything on the desk - no calendars, penpots, mousemats, anything!?!

While I agree with having tidy desk and not an abundance of personalisation, I think removing all traces of someone sitting their is just weird. We use to (pre covid) sit in the same desk for 95% of the year but could leave not trace of us being there. It really reduces morale and comfort.

Of course we’re now working from home indefinitely, it feels like they were always just pushing us in that direction and Covid just made it happen.

@Fitschkels

Who is aged 42 and called Linda? 62 maybe

I know 2 Lindas in their 40s.