How clean is your desk? Shocking new stats reveal workers waste nearly two days a year looking for paperwork

Too much paperwork on your desk? Is it taking you ages to look for files and documents? Chances are you are one of the 10% of workers who spend 30 minutes a week dealing with their messy desk.

A new survey conducted by technology firm Brother has revealed that we spend 35.7 million days a year looking for missing paperwork, that's the equivalent of 1.5 days per worker.

But don't worry - us ladies are in the minority - middle-aged men over 45 are officially the messiest when it comes to their work environment.

According to the stats, the average desk is strewn with mess weighing around a stone in total! That's more than three times the weight of a fully grown cat (we love getting in those pet references)!

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Apparently 13.4 per cent of male staff have actually been reprimanded for their untidiness. You can breathe a sign of relief, though, as only 6.9 per cent of us female employees have been told off for keeping a messy desk.

So, whether you work from home, or put in long hours at the office - it seems that one in ten of us have lost a new client, customer or contract as a result of the chaotic state of our work environments.

Almost half (46%) said they could not see the need for a tidy desk. But one in five admitted they had regularly lost important documents. Staff in retail and professional services have been found to be the messiest.

A third blame their clutter on a lack of time, with 20% saying that having a PA would help (you wish!).

But the good news is that the younger generation have been found to be the most organised - the survey revealed that 16 to 24-year-olds are the cleanest.

Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology at Lancaster University, believe younger people work on screen more easily, with less need for print outs.

He said: "Documentation in paper form will continue to exist whilst Baby Boomers and Generation X remain in the workforce, so there's at least another two decades of well organised document management required."

So, if you're currently sitting at a desk piled with print outs, then
shame on you. You'd better channel your inner Kim and Aggie and have a
clear out!

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