Despite popular articles and books, researchers have failed to examine how office clutter emerges and potential mediators underlying clutter in personal workspaces. We hypothesized that workers whose jobs require them to deal with a heavy volume of work at a rapid pace would be more likely to experience job strain (i.e., emotional exhaustion), which, in turn, depletes their energy and makes workers more likely to delay decisions. Decisional procrastination (indecision) was expected to increase office clutter, which itself is a physical stressor. Data from an Internet survey with 290 U.S. office workers recruited through Prolific Academic supported the hypotheses. This study is the first to examine clutter as a physical stressor in the workplace. A greater understanding of the factors that promote office clutter might help organizations and workers address sources of workspace conditions and personal habits that impede productivity and well-being.
AlarconG.EschlemanK.BowlingN. (2009). Relationships between personality variables and burnout: A meta-analysis. Work & Stress, 23, 244-263. doi:10.1080/02678370903282600
3.
AlexanderC. (1970). The goodness of fit and its source. In ProshanskyH.IttelsonW.RivlinL. (Eds.), Environmental psychology: Man and his physical setting (pp. 42-56). New York, NY: Holt Rinehart and Winston.
4.
BeckerT. E. (2005). Potential problems in the statistical control of variables in organizational Research: A qualitative analysis with recommendations. Organizational Research Methods, 8, 274-289. doi:10.1177/1094428105278021
5.
BeehrT. A.JexS. M.GhoshP. (2001). The management of occupational stress. In JohnsonC. M.RedmonW. K.MawhinneyT. C. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational performance: Behavior analysis & management (pp. 225-254). New York, NY: Haworth Press.
6.
BelkinL. (2004, July18). Office messes. New York Times Magazine, pp. 24-28.
7.
BurgessA.FrostR. O.MaraniC.GabrielsonI. (2018). Imperfection, indecision, and hoarding. Current Psychology, 37, 445–453. doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9695-4
8.
DeArmondS.MatthewsR. A.BunkJ. (2014). Workload and procrastination: The roles of psychological detachment and fatigue. International Journal of Stress Management, 21, 137-161. doi:10.1037/a0034893
9.
DiestelS.SchmidtK. (2009). Mediator and moderator effects of demands on self-control in the relationship between work load and indicators of job strain. Work & Stress, 23, 60-79. doi:10.1080/02678370902846686
10.
FerrariJ. R. (2010). Still procrastinating? The no regrets guide for getting it done. New York, NY: John Wiley.
11.
FerrariJ. R.CrumK. P.PardoM. A. (2018). Decisional procrastination: Assessing characterological and contextual variables around indecision. Current Psychology, 37, 436-440. doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9681-x
12.
FerrariJ. R.JohnsonJ. L.McCownW. G. (Eds.). (1995). Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory, research and treatment. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
13.
FerrariJ. R.PychylT. (2007). Regulating speed, accuracy and judgments by indecisives: Effects of frequent choices on self-regulation depletion. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 777-787. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.09.001
14.
FerrariJ. R.RosterC. A. (2018). Delaying disposing: Examining the relationship between procrastination and clutter across generations. Current Psychology, 37, 426-431. doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9679-4
15.
FerrariJ. R.RosterC. A.CrumK. P. (2018). Procrastination and clutter: An ecological view of living with excessive stuff. Current Psychology, 37, 441-444. doi:10.1007/s12144-017-9682-9
16.
FerrariJ. R.TibbettT. P. (2017). Procrastination. In Zeigler-HillV.ShackelfordT. K. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences (pp. 1-8). New York, NY: Springer Meteor Press.
17.
FisherR. J.KatzJ. E. (2000). Social-desirability bias and the validity of self-reported values. Psychology & Marketing, 17, 105-120. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(200002)17:2<105::AID-MAR3>3.0.CO;2-9
18.
FrontczakM.WargockiP. (2011). Literature survey on how different factors influence human comfort in indoor environments. Building and Environment, 46, 922-937. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.10.02
19.
FrostR. O.HartlT. L. (1996). A cognitive-behavioral model of compulsive hoarding. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 341-350. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)00071-2
20.
FrostR. O.HartlT. L.ChristianR.WilliamsN. (1995). The value of possessions in compulsive hoarding: Patterns of use and attachment. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 897-902. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(95)00043-W
GoslingS. D.KoS. J.MannarelliT.MorrisM. E. (2002). A room with a cue: Personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 379-398. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.82.3.379
23.
GriffinM. A.NealA.ParkerS. K. (2007). A new model of work role performance: Positive behavior in uncertain and interdependent contexts. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 327-347. doi:10.5465/amj.2007.24634438
24.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
25.
HedgeA. (2000). Where are we in understanding the effects of where we are?Ergonomics, 43, 1019-1029. doi:10.1080/001401300409198
HeydlauffP. (2009, March). Reducing office clutter. EHS Today, pp. 48-49.
28.
IvancevichJ. M.MattesonM. T. (1980). Stress and work: A managerial perspective. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.
29.
JanisI. L.MannL. (1977). Decision making: A psychological analysis of conflict, choice and commitment. New York, NY: Free Press.
30.
JexS. M.BeehrT. A. (1991). Emerging theoretical and methodological issues in the study of work-related stress. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 9, 311-365.
31.
KarasekR. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 285-308. doi:10.2307/2392498
32.
KarasekR. (1998). Demand/Control model: A social, emotional, and physiological approach to stress risk and active behavior development. In StellmanJ. M. (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety (4th ed., pp. 3406-3414). Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Office.
33.
KarasekR.TheorellT. (1990). Healthy work. New York, NY: Basic Books.
34.
KlitzmanS.StellmanJ. M. (1989). The impact of the physical environment on the psychological well-being of office workers. Social Science & Medicine, 29, 733-742. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(89)90153-6
35.
KożusznikM. W.PeiróJ. M.SorianoA.Navarro EscuderoM. (2018). “Out of sight, out of mind?” The role of physical stressors, cognitive appraisal, and positive emotions in employees’ health. Environment and Behavior, 50, 86-115. doi:10.1177/0013916517691323
36.
LaurenceG. A. (2013). “My space”: A moderated mediation model of the effect of architectural and experienced privacy and workspace personalization on emotional exhaustion at work. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, 144-152. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.07.011
37.
LazarusR. S. (1984). Puzzles in the study of daily hassles. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 7, 375-389. doi:10.1007/BF00845271
38.
LazarusR. S.CohenJ. B. (1977). Environmental stress. In AltmanI.WohlwillJ. F. (Eds.), Human behavior and the environment: Current theory and research (pp. 89-127). New York, NY: Spectrum.
39.
LonerganJ. M.MaherK. J. (2000). The relationship between job characteristics and workplace procrastination as moderators of locus of control. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15, 213-224.
40.
MakC. M.LuyY. P. (2012). The effect of sound on office productivity. Building Services Engineering Research & Technology, 33, 339-345. doi:10.1177/0143624411412253
41.
MannL. (1982). Decision-making questionnaire (Unpublished inventory). The Flinders University of South Australia.
42.
MaslachC.JacksonS. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 99-113.
43.
MaslachC.JacksonS. E. (1984). Burnout in organizational settings. Applied Social Psychology Annual, 5, 133-153.
44.
McCoyJ. M.EvansG. (2005). Physical work environment. In BarlingJ.KellowayE. K.FroneM. (Eds.), Handbook of work stress (pp. 219-245). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clutter
45.
National Association of Professional Organizers. (2009, March). Get organized month survey. Available from www.napo.net
NixonA. E.MazzolaJ. J.BauerJ.KruegerJ. R.SpectorP. E. (2011). Can work make you sick? A meta-analysis of the relationships between job stressors and physical symptoms. Work & Stress, 25, 1-22. doi:10.1080/02678373.2011.569175
48.
PassoffM. (1998). Lighten up! Free yourself from clutter. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
49.
PeerE.BrandimarteL.SamatS.AcquistiA. (2017). Beyond the Turk: Alternative platforms for crowdsourcing behavioral research. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, 153-163. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2017.01.006
50.
ReynoldsW. M. (1982). Development of reliable and valid short forms of the Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 119-125. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(198201)38:1<119::AID-JCLP2270380118>3.0.CO;2-I
51.
RichM. (2002, March29). Controlling clutter creep—With office space shrinking, bosses try clean-desk policies, new furniture to keep peace. Wall Street Journal, Section B, 1.
52.
RosterC. A.FerrariJ. R.JurkatM. P. (2016). The dark side of home: Assessing possession “clutter” on subjective well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 46, 32-41. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.03.003
53.
SchmidtK.-H.HupkeM.DiestelS. (2012). Does dispositional capacity for self-control attenuate the relation between self-control demands at work and indicators of job strain?Work & Stress, 26, 21-38. doi:10.1080/02678373.2012.660367
54.
SpectorP. E.JexS. M. (1998). Development of four self-report measures of job stressors and strain: Interpersonal conflict at work scale, organizational constraints scale, quantitative workload inventory, and physical symptoms inventory. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 356-367.
55.
SweetenG.SillenceE.NeaveN. (2018). Digital hoarding behaviours: Underlying motivations and potential negative consequences. Computers in Human Behavior, 85, 54-60. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.03.031
56.
TolinD. F.MeunierS. A.FrostR. O.SteketeeG. (2010). Course of compulsive hoarding and its relationship to life events. Depression & Anxiety, 27, 829-838. doi:10.1002/da.20684
57.
Van der HulstM.GeurtsS. (2001). Associations between overtime and psychological health in high and low reward jobs. Work & Stress, 15, 227-240. doi:10.1080/026783701110.1080/02678370110066580
58.
VischerJ. C. (2005). Space meets status: Designing workplace performance. Oxford, UK: Taylor & Francis.
59.
VischerJ. C. (2007). The effects of the physical environment on job performance: Towards a theoretical model of workspace stress. Stress and Health, 23, 175-184. doi:10.1002/smi.1134
60.
WahL. (1998, September1). To clean or to clutter?Management Review, 87(8), 7.
61.
WalcuttL. (2017, February2). Declutter your life to increase productivity. Forbes.com, p. 9.
62.
WellsM. (2000). Office clutter or meaningful personal displays: The role of office personalization in employee and organizational well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20, 239-255. doi:10.1006/jevp.1999.0166
