78
Asking a Collegue to Clean Up His Cube

The colleague of a friend literally aired his dirty laundry in the office one day. After a rigorous workout at a nearby gym, the employee returned to the office and decided to air dry his sweaty gym clothes by draping them over his cubicle walls. The odor prompted such an outcry that his supervisor ordered the man to return the clothes to his gym bag.

Some employees blur the lines between home and cube. And you may occasionally have to remind them of that difference and the need to tidy up their little space. A colleague who worked with a lot of files spread them around his cubicle. The excess spilled into the aisle. People had to step over the documents constantly during the day. Someone finally complained and he condensed the errant filing system. Another colleague stacked books in teetering piles that seemed to come crashing down only on his day off. Someone else had to clean up the mess.

When you ask clutterers to clean up they may wonder what all the fuss is about and become defensive. So tread lightly. Explain how the untidiness affects you and give examples. Soften your approach by offering to help with the clean up. Don’t ask a friend how she can live with such clutter. Instead, make some gentle suggestions about where she could store some items.

“Act as if you’re giving friendly advice,” says Stephen M. Pollan, author of Lifescripts: What to say to get what you want in life’s toughest situations.

“Avoid coming across as superior. Don’t put her down.”