What Does Your Desk Say About You?

female executive — (Image credit: Sergey Baykov)

Lori Jacks, a 31-year-old paralegal in Talladega, Alabama, is the go-to gal in her firm for legal briefs. She's accurate, confident, and can churn out several in a day, more than most of her colleagues. She's so good, in fact, that her desk has become a repository for case files — hundreds of them. While law offices, by their very nature, create mounds of paperwork, Jacks' desk is in a category all its own. Jacks says she's too busy to throw out yesterday's — or last month's — newspapers, half-finished coffee cups, cardboard lunch containers. "It's a bit of a nightmare," she confesses. "The second I get up from my desk, I guarantee the intercom will ring. I'm embarrassed. I feel like my desk is a reflection on me, that I'm lazy."

She's right to be concerned. A messy desk suggests that its occupant isn't conscientious--a trait that is one of the biggest predictors of success, according to University of Texas professor Sam Gosling, author of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You. Translation: Jacks' clutter could be very subtly informing her boss's decisions as to whether to grant her a raise or promotion. "Accurate or not, people form impressions of you based on your space," says Gosling.

Everything in your office inspires snap judgments, from your collage of Ryan Reynolds (junior, immature) to the jar of candy on your desk (extrovert). Here, a guide to what your belongings really say about you.