Accountants have the messiest desks
Harbouring mountains of paperwork and unhealthy grime, a survey has branded accountants the messiest workers in the UK.
Accountants finished first with 64% in a Viking survey of 2000 employees; lawyers followed closely behind with 61%. A parallel survey which swabbed 300 messy desks found traces of common bacteria such as bacillus and staphylococcus and raised concerns for workers’ health.
Dr Lisa Ackerley, hygiene expert at Viking and a chartered environmental health practitioner, said: “This research has shown that there are some very unhygienic desks right now in the UK, which is very worrying those who work in open plan offices tend to starting coming down with illnesses this time of year.
“Keeping equipment such as keyboards, phones and desks as germ free as possible is even more important during the cold and flu season.”
The survey generated a mixed response from AccountingWEB members in our Time Out discussion group. Some pointed to the old adage of “messy desk, messy mind”, but others argued a messy desk is an inevitable consequence of being an accountant - particularly those who have to handle the black bag jobs.
Old Greying Accountant said: “I just finish a job, chuck it on the floor/chair/corner of the desk and get on with the next one.”
If you're fighting a losing battle against clutter, perhaps paperless office technology can help. What other techniques would you recommend to stay on top of the paper mountains, particularly with Self Assessment season on the horizon?
Related links
Messy desks 1 thanks
In my experience, the only accountants I have known with tidy desks are the ones who DELEGATE ALL THE ACTUAL WORK to someone else.