How to encourage tidiness in the office

Think about your answer to this question carefully: do you think your office desk is clean and tidy or messy and disorganised? And do you think it matters?Some people would argue that a messy or tidy desk is completely irrelevant; as long as the individual sitting at that desk is doing their job well and producing great work what does it matter?

Other people would disagree. They would counter that argument by saying that someone with an untidy desk is UNLIKELY to be delivering great work or doing their job to the best of their ability.They would mention the practical problems of having an office worker with an untidy desk: if that person was taken ill on the day and a colleague needed to find something on their desk, the likelihood of their being able to do so is limited if the desk looks like a bomb site.

Also, visitors to the office might be unimpressed by a messy desk (unless you work in a creative industry, where being tidy might work against you and actually make people suspicious of your ability to be sufficiently ‘wacky’ and ‘creative’).
If you are the owner or manager of a business who appreciates the importance of a tidy office it can be hard to try and implement this on your staff. They will see their desk as their private space and a reflection of them. They might also genuinely struggle with being tidy, having never been encouraged to do so before.

In this case, perhaps the best way of encouraging them is by setting a good example. Employ window cleaners on a regular basis to keep windows clean and clear. Tell staff that you are employing window cleaners in an attempt to smarten up the office – perhaps they will get the hint and tidy their desks.

If you don’t already have office cleaners cleaning regularly, then perhaps you should consider doing so. Office cleaners can be requested to clean carpets and fittings and ignore personal desks, making any guilty parties stand out even more.
If these tricks don’t work, a frank talk face to face should do the trick.Or why not just threaten to tell their mother?