CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Office clutter, such as extra papers, supplies or trash, can be a frustrating nuisance.
Joseph Ferrari, a social-community psychologist at DePaul University, said it also can have a very real negative effect on mental health and productivity.
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Ferrari told WBBM Newsradio that the problem at the office can be the same that people have at home simply hanging onto stuff for too long.
“People have to realize that they have too much stuff. The problem isn’t so much all the stuff we have it’s our attachment to things. We’ve become attached,” Ferrari said.
Ferrari said he and his research team at DePaul also found office clutter negatively affected participants' satisfaction and pleasure from work, and increased the likelihood of burnout and tension.
“The more clutter one has on one’s desk, in one’s office, the less productivity they have, the higher the rate of burnout, the more emotional burnout will experience. Emotional exhaustion is what it’s called,” Ferrari said.
The research is published in the International Journal of Psychological Research and Reviews.
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