State of the lion's den reveals all

By ROGER DOBSON

What's the quickest, surest, smartest way for employees to predict accurately their bosses' behaviour? Simple. Just look into their office.

New academic research suggests a manager's personality is best reflected by the state of his or her desk.

Abandoned coffee cups, books in alphabetical order, sporting gear in the corner and even a pebble paperweight offer clues to the inner person. So too do the posters, family pictures and souvenirs from exotic holidays.

A cluttered desk, for example, is a sign of a warm, agreeable, co-operative individual, while a well-lit room signals a solid, dependable, conscientious person at work.

That shabby, drab office, on the other hand, can point to a calm, self-confident occupier.

"Our findings suggest that an observer who has briefly examined an individual's living or working environment will form impressions that are remarkably consistent with other observers' impressions," say the researchers from the University of Texas.

"Furthermore, these impressions are often accurate."

Psychologists looked at a number of different types of office, including those at a bank, an estate agent, an advertising agency and a firm of architects and rated the personalities of their occupiers.

At the same time the personalities of the occupiers were assessed through a series of questionnaires.

The results proved that personality could indeed be predicted from an office.

"People spend many of their waking hours in their personal living and work environments, and they often decorate these places," says the report. "People choose a decor that fits their own personal taste and aesthetic."

Books and CDs in alphabetical order were found to be a sign of someone who is organised and dependable.

Tickets to the opera or a poster calling for the legalisation of cannabis define individuals who are creative and cultured.

A bottle of wine waiting to be taken home signals good social skills, while a pebble from a favourite beach suggest a sentimental type.

But the psychologists point out that signs can often be used to deceive. "They may be strategic statements intended to portray the individual in a certain light," says the report.

Untidy types may, for example, decorate the space in ways that suggest a hard-working disposition. Those who put up posters of hip movies may do so not because they like the film, but because they want to be considered cool.

The worst offenders are those who leave their skis casually stacked in the corner of the office at the back in a desperate attempt to give an image of sensation seeking.

- INDEPENDENT