Whether you work at a tidy desk or in a chaotic setting , both have benefits, say researchers. While a tidy desk promotes healthy eating habits, an untidy desk stimulates creative thinking.
People often say that the tidiness of your desk can tell a lot about your personality. People with tidy desks are often considered to me more organized and in control of situations that surround them. However, a new study found that working at an untidy desk also has its own benefits.
"Prior work has found that a clean setting leads people to do good things: Not engage in crime, not litter, and show more generosity," psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs explained in a press release. "We found, however, that you can get really valuable outcomes from being in a messy setting."
Researchers conducted a series of experiments for the study. In the first experiment, a group of participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire. Some were seated in a tidy office room while others were place in an unkempt office. All participants were then asked to donate money to a charity and then offered a chocolate and apple on their way out.
Researchers noticed that a majority of the people who filled the questionnaire in the tidy space chose the apple over the candy bar and donated more money to charity.
In another experiment, both groups were asked to come up with new usages for ping pong balls. While both groups came up with the same number of ideas, the ideas coming from people working in the unkempt room were rated as more interesting and innovative.
Researchers also found that when participants were given a choice between a new product and an established one, participants from the unkempt room chose the new product.
"Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights," Vohs concluded. "Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe."
Researchers are now conducting further studies to understand whether these effects might even transfer to a virtual environment like the Internet.
