What Your Desk Says About You

Family photographs

Photographs of family and friends are perhaps the most common desktop embellishments. A wedding photo or a tasteful snapshot of you with your girlfriend or wife on vacation last summer proves to those around you that you are capable of managing complex relationships over long periods of time. Similarly, a portrait of your kid -- or even a niece, nephew or godchild -- projects you as well rooted. Displaying the fact that you have responsibilities outside of work that rely on your gainful employment reminds your boss that such people are the least likely to risk jumping ship down the line.

Problems occur, however, when you oversell your private life. Too many photos on your desk, for example, will make it seem like you would rather be at home than working. Stick to one or two to make sure that what your desk says about you remains positive.

Sports paraphernalia

From coffee mugs to calendars and from newspaper clippings to screensavers, sports merchandise is seemingly at home on your desk. Yet advertising such allegiances to your coworkers may be the most dangerous game of all. There is a relatively simple rule for sports fans to follow: it's good to support the hometown team and it's bad to support any other team. Sure, anecdotes about “back home” are sometimes great icebreakers, but never during playoffs.

For those of you who work in the same city as your favorite team, advertising that fact can be a real career-booster. Your desk attire will lead to discussions of games with your boss and to commiserating or celebrating a result with your coworkers, all of which will foster friendly perceptions of you.

Reading materials

You should choose newspapers over tabloids. It’s prudent to keep up with current affairs at work, but you should avoid any suggestion that you are dumbing down your day. Never leave the stuff lying around for extended periods of time, as you don’t want to give the impression that you don’t have enough work to do or that you’re slacking on your responsibilities. Tabloids show you like to gossip, while relevant reading material shows your dedication.

Cleanliness

While people do like to see you busy, at the end of the day -- and especially when you are on vacation -- leave it clean, leave it ordered and leave it stocked. At the same time, don’t be too anal. Obsessive cleaning, overreacting to an invasion of your workspace or punctilious neatness will not foster an impression that you could manage an emergency. Your desk is a working environment and you should treat it as such.

Found on AskMen.com