Office workers are being urged to do more to keep their desks tidy, after the findings of a new report were revealed.
The study – by technology firm Brother – found that UK businesses lose 35.7 million days each year through staff wasting time looking for missing files and paperwork among unorganised piles of work.
It means that, on average, 1.5 days is wasted by every employee in the country – with ten per cent spending 30 minutes or more a week trying to keep on top of their workspace.
The state of workers’ desks could also be costing their employer money – with one in ten admitting to losing a new client or contract as a result of their inability to stay organised.
According to the research, middle-aged men were the worst offenders – with those aged 45 and over the untidiest when it comes to their working environment.
It was found that companies are trying to keep on top of it though, with 13.4 per cent of male employees receiving warnings for their messiness.
The number of women receiving a telling off was around half of that, at 6.9 per cent.
Companies can try to combat the problem by adopting a hot desk policy. Here, the temptation to collect clutter in one particular spot of the office over time can be overcome – thus offering a handy solution to what is literally becoming a growing problem.
Apparently there is around a stone of rubbish weighing down the average desk.
Around 1,100 office workers were questioned as part of the survey, with 46 per cent of them saying they did not see the point in keeping their space tidy. However, a fifth did admit that they regularly misplaced documents that were important to them.
A lack of time is the most common excuse why their desks might be untidy, while a fifth also suggested that having a PA might improve the situation.
