Desktop Existentialism: The Meaning and Psychology of Desk Objects
We all know office culture can be strange. There’s weird kitchen politics to consider, trash policies to abide. But none so strange as the customs and conventions of personal desk spaces.
Is your office for or against the use of festive desk arrangements or accoutrements? How much is too much kitsch and nick-knackery? You don’t want to be the crazy cat lady hoarder of desk trinkets, after all—or worse, the accumulator of dirty, crusty dishes.
Decorative desk objects evidently say as much about your personality as the clothes you wear. And we all know that you’re supposed to dress for the title and not for the role, or however that saying goes.
I recently found myself falling deep down this specific rabbit hole chasing the psychology of desk objects and trinkets.
Let me explain.
I have a toyshop on my desk. With my blow up brontosaurus, a box of little furry chicks gifted to me from Poland, a small laughing monkey, a blue boxy robot, a small snail, a dancing rainbow haired troll, a mysterious Jenga cube, my go to yellow and teal sunglasses, two jungle creature cut-outs, my trusty elephant smartphone holder, and a book of poems.
I was recently moved to a desk located near the design team, and they take desk minimalism very seriously. They have nothing but computer monitors and keyboards on their desks. No photos, no personalized coffee mugs, not even a paperclip. Is the design team in silent protest against the seemingly cluttered warehouse of “stuff” that we at TechSoup have collected over the years? We’re a technology nonprofit, so we have all the tech things piled up like a museum, paying homage to our ever-changing technological past.
I started to think about image and what that might mean in an office setting. Can you be the crazy cat lady of desk trinkets and be the CEO of your company? Can you actually have a bunch of dirty plates piled up as an executive? Or is the assumption that these behaviors are a professional deathblow?
I explored the implications of labeling in the workplace, how these labels help to form judgments that might affect the performances or successes of employees. How words that empower identities can be so fragile. How the role of management intersects with effective communication to positively build up the identities of their employees. I found articles to read online. I picked the brains of my coworkers.
“Desk psychology is so little understood,” writes Anna Tims in the Guardian. “Those who make judgments about you based on the state of your work space may not even realize they are doing so. But subconscious or not, those judgments are inevitable and enduring.”
My coworker @mmbacon says she likes peace lilies on her desk because they help with air pollution and are a solid all weather office plant. Do others consider why she has peace lilies on her desk over other plants? Is she silently being judged by lily haters?
My own desk is a collection of haphazard and strategically placed objects. On one hand I have a post-it pile that has developed over time right next to my blowup brontosaurus dinosaur placed ever so specifically to look as if grazing on my plant. Will this strategy be considered next to the clutter?
I am committed to exploring this further. Stay tuned for further musings, images, and conversations with my office mates on how they feel about desk objects and trinkets, starting with the design team. Until then, tweet at us @techsoup with your thoughts on desktop toys.
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