It’s comforting to have things from home at work. Well, maybe not a cat. And many of us do decorate our workspaces with family pictures, colorful objects to brighten your day, or even little trinkets that amuse. But what if your boss forbids personal items on your desk?
While many bosses are happy to let you have whatever makes you happy(within reason), some are adamant about not wanting anything at all on your desk except work. And even that needs to be put away when you go home. I had a boss like that once.
Why the naked desk fixation?
It would probably take someone with a Ph.D. to truly explain what goes on inside the heads of bosses — any bosses. But anyone who demands such absolute obedience even when it comes to your personal space has strong control freak tendencies … with at least some tyrant or bully boss aspects.
Of course, they might correct me by saying office space is not YOUR space … it belongs to the company. And technically they are right. But it’s also a terrible way to encourage individual creativity or even loyalty … beyond loyalty by fear.
These types of bosses usually don’t stop at clean desks. They also often create unbearable workplaces. Still their intimidator ways do get things done in most cases, even if much is lost in the process. Including good employees who leave.
EXCEPTION: I don’t mean to condemn all bosses who want to see clutter-free desktops. While I still think it points to some degree of the tendencies discussed above, if the boss treats you well otherwise then this desk obsession may be viewed as just a quirk. We all have those to some extent — even bosses.
My clean desk story
In my case, the boss I had was obsessed with clean desks. To have personal items on your desktop was to invite his wrath. Which I admit I did more than once since I thought this was a stupid rule. To really irk him, I continually left an award on my desk that I won for a product he didn’t support.
IMPORTANT ADVICE: If you want to keep your job, you probably should not do that. But my job was as boring as his management style, so I really didn’t care if he fired me. And meanwhile, I began looking and got myself transferred to a manager with actual human skills.
Why personal items on your desk matter
To the clean-freak boss, I guess it represents your thinking about things other than work. (How dare you!) Or simply daring to think on your own at all. (We wouldn’t want to encourage that too much.)
But for most of us, personal items at work help you get through some of the tougher days. And help you feel connected to the world outside of work — a very grounding and healthy thing.
Should you quit if your boss imposes this rule?
Depends on the job and what you want your work-life to be. If the rest of the job is good, then I’m not sure this is enough reason to look elsewhere. As I said, everyone including bosses has quirks.
But if this is the tip of the iceberg, keep your desk clean (again don’t do what I did) and start looking. Even if you don’t find anything right away, taking action to help yourself also helps put some of the annoyances into perspective.
More posts to help
Worried My Boss Wants to Fire Me
When Your Boss Yells At You
How To Deal With a Bully Boss
My Boss Tries To Control Everything!
What If Your Boss Asks You To Lie For Him?
Why Is HR So Useless When You’re Being Bullied?
My Boss Doesn’t Respect Me No Matter What I Do
My Boss Says I Have an Attitude Problem
Boss Won’t Let Me Transfer To a Different Department
Are You Afraid To Talk To Your Boss?
Help! My Boss Doesn’t Understand Me
What To Do If Your Boss Takes You For Granted
⇒ EXTRA: Boss Treats You Badly? It’s Not Your fault!
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