Every office desk has its own personality, and some attract more attention than others, especially messy ones. With scattered papers, dirty mugs and tangled cables, their appearance is a shock to those who prefer order.

Indeed, studies suggest that this chaos could be detrimental to collective productivity. Could a tidy workspace, then, be synonymous with productivity?

Tidiness, or the lack of it, can be a sensitive subject in the workplace. After all, there are two types of colleagues: those who are adept at meticulous tidying, and those who are champions of creative chaos.

The former have a desk worthy of an Ikea showroom, with impeccably stacked files on one side and personal objects discreetly arranged on the other. With the latter, the workspace is a merry jumble of crumpled papers, random sticky notes, tangled earphones, and half-finished snacks.

The untidy person is often oblivious to the mess that surrounds them, and can work away unperturbed by their clutter. But many office neighbours find it hard to cope: a survey of 2,000 British office workers by technology supplier Brother UK reveals that a quarter of them feel a colleague’s clutter is detrimental to their own productivity.

This is because a cluttered space not only disturbs the eyes, it overloads the mind. Research published in 2011 in the Journal of Neuroscience demonstrates that physical messes breed mental clutter, making it harder for the brain to focus on important tasks.

The question of tidiness in the office is not simply a matter of personal preference – it also relates to the codes of corporate life, particularly in shared spaces. What appears to be a logical organisation for one person may be perceived as a source of stress for another, sometimes feeding tensions and judgements.

Indeed, a workspace says a lot about its occupant. University of Michigan researchers highlighted the impact of clutter on professional image in a 2019 study, and found that a cluttered space is often judged negatively.

Its occupant is often perceived, consciously or unconsciously, as less agreeable and more neurotic or unconcerned about others. These preconceptions can influence interactions and work dynamics, underlining the importance of the image that our professional environment conveys.

So, is it imperative to keep things tidy in order to shine in the workplace? The debate remains open, but one thing is certain: the state of our desk has as much influence on our day-to-day as it does on how others perceive us.

A messy desk can quickly earn us a reputation for being disorganised or chaotic, which is why it’s important to tidy up regularly. But what’s functional for some isn’t necessarily functional for others: Steve Jobs, for example, worked in the midst of a legendary mess, yet this in no way detracted from his visionary genius.

How can this be explained? In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, researchers argued that a disorderly environment encourages us to focus on the essentials.

That said, it’s no excuse to let things get out of hand – remember, what really counts is not what state your desk is in, but how you use it!