Do you spend eight hours of your day in a cubicle? I do, sometimes more than eight hours a day. It is my home away from home and it looks like it. I have a Minnie Mouse coffee cup for my pens, a white board that I write cute sayings on and tons of family pictures.
If I have to spend my life in a box I want it to at least me a homey, comfortable box. I have slippers under my desk because I hate to wear shoes and a blanket for those times the office is too chilly. When I walk around it’s mainly the women’s cubicles that look like mine, all the cute little touches that showcase our personalities. The men’s cubicles will usually have a family picture in a frame on the desk, if they are married. If they are single there is sometimes a sports reference of some type but usually nothing.
I keep my cubicle clean, there is a crew that empties the trash and runs the vacuum at night but they don’t dust and they certainly don’t sanitize my workspace. I keep containers of wipes in my file cabinet so every Friday before I leave for the weekend my cubicle gets cleaned, including the chair I sit on, you would be amazed at the amount of dust on your chair. I also keep plants in my cubicle, not only do they add some life to an otherwise gray space, they also clean the air. The cleaner your cubicle is the less likely you are too get sick, so take the time to clean it every week, especially if you eat at your desk at all.
Studies have shown that people who decorate their cubicles are more productive and use fewer sick days than those who don’t decorate. So the next time your boss thinks you have one family picture too many, remind him, those faces keep you productive and remind you why you do this day after day.