To all adherents of clean desks: when does a clean desk policy make sense and how should it be implemented?
Clean desk: more than just clearing your desk
What is CLEAN DESK?
According to the Fraunhofer Institute, ten per cent of working time is wasted on searching for materials and documents. The office Kaizen expert Jürgen Kurz even speaks of 70 annual working days squandered with unproductive activities such as managing chaos that never seems to end. A new trend in working life combats this source of inefficiency. The clean desk principle advocates clear, orderly desktops on which nothing can be found except absolute necessities.
Why CLEAN DESK?
“A clean desk not only saves time, but offers several additional advantages”, explains Martina Heiland, PR Manager at DURABLE. “A big chaos distracts workers mentally and may demotivate them.” This phenomenon has been confirmed by industrial psychologists such as Professor Konradt from the University of Kiel. “For companies practising desk sharing in their offices, a clean desk policy is indispensable”, Martina Heiland adds. “After all, who likes finding an untidy workplace left behind by a colleague – that can only lead to conflicts.”
What is the best way to set up the office?
But will so much order not stifle creativity? “For creative thinking processes, it is important to have an office that does not look sterile”, Martina Heiland reports. “A personal touch – for example some plants, a favourite picture on the wall or carefully chosen colour highlights – will inspire and motivate staff members.”
The DURABLE equipment package
“What many people forget is that a key factor for clean desks is efficient organisation of the IT equipment”, Heiland explains. The new monitor holders from DURABLE leave more free space for work and make it easier to maintain order on the desktop. The innovative holding brackets can be fastened in a space-saving way and adjusted individually either with a desk clamp, bolt-through fixing or a wall mount. And the CAVOLINE® range handles cables and sockets – finally allowing us to say goodbye forever to the days of cable spaghetti under the desk.
Modern organisers such as VARICOLOR® MIX drawer boxes help to structure the filing system and bring colour into everyday working life.
Modern organisers such as VARICOLOR® MIX drawer boxes help to structure the filing system and bring colour into everyday working life.
