Office Desk Photos Dying Out

Does a photo of a loved one adorn your office desk? If so, you’re in a minority. Only 24 percent of office workers have a photograph on their desk, according to a poll commissioned by office design company Maris Interiors. This is down from 29 percent when the survey was conducted in 2010. Of those with desk photos, half (49%) have them framed, with others sticking them on pin boards (27%) or on their computer monitors (12%).

A majority of those who have photos on their desks have pictures of family or partners (84%). Pets were the next most popular subject (12%).

Bosses, it seems, are generally tolerant of desks at workstations. Only four percent of respondents reported rules discouraging personal photographs. However, Chairman of Maris Interiors, Michael Howard, attributed the decline of desk photos to changing work practices.

“This could be explained by the huge recent increase in hot-desking: where multiple workers share the same desk to save space and optimising office usage,” he said. “Also, most of us now have phones which allow us to have pictures as a background, which might negate the need for photos on our desks. Or maybe we’re all just getting less romantic!”