Surprise, a messy office costs money. Lots of money if you believe the findings released by Brother International Corporation. Brother sponsored the "P-Touch Means Business" survey in which 800 part-time and full-time U.S. employees responded to questions about their general level of organization. The survey found that disorganized workplaces cost an estimated 76 working hours per person each year, which they extrapolated to $177,846,846,126 (yes $177 BILLION).
Additionally, the survey found that:
•Office workers perceive their work areas to be more organized than their peers. 87 percent say when their workspace is disorganized they feel they are less productive than when their workspace is organized. Additionally, 80 percent agree that someone who is disorganized hurts the productivity of the whole office.
•Thirty-seven percent of office workers have gone into a work meeting feeling unprepared. This holds true for close to half of Gen Y (18-24) office workers and 49 percent with a household income of $75,000+.
•Disorganization is a reason why employees are not being reimbursed for business travel from their employers. 30 percent of office workers have lost out on getting reimbursed for a business or travel expense because they misplaced or lost a receipt.
If you want to find out how organized you are, you can take a 3 minute survey (HERE) to find out.
- John Schwartz
- is the President of Sam Clar Office Furniture. Sam Clar Office Furniture has been providing office furniture and related services to Northern California businesses since 1939.