Returning to the office: the overlooked cost of clutter

Just wanted to share a high overview of my master's mini project.

As organizations push return-to-office policies, one factor is getting far less attention than it deserves: clutter.

Most of us feel an urge to declutter instinctively. What’s less known is that there is a substantial body of academic research showing that clutter measurably affects well-being, mental fatigue, and performance — especially in knowledge work.

I’m highly sensitive to clutter, which led me to systematically simplify not just my desk, but my immediate physical and digital environment. The result was a noticeable improvement in focus and productivity. Management viewed this positively which made me wonder: what about employees who don’t have the ability to change their environment?

What the research shows

Across multiple studies (and supported by my own findings):
Clutter increases mental fatigue and reduces performance, but not equally for everyone.

The effect is strongest for people high in conscientiousness. Individuals lower on this trait often show little or no performance decline in cluttered environments.

Age is positively associated with clutter tolerance, which may help explain why senior managers are often less affected than early-career knowledge workers.

Importantly, subjective perception and objective impact differ people may not feel cluttered, yet still show measurable fatigue and reduced cognitive control.

In short: some employees are paying a cognitive cost they may not even be aware of.

Why this matters for managers
If you manage knowledge workers, clutter is not a personal preference issue — it’s an environmental performance variable.

Decluttering and thoughtfully designing office spaces:

• Improves well-being for sensitive employees
• Reduces mental fatigue
• Increases sustained cognitive performance
• Does not harm those who are less sensitive to clutter

This is especially relevant now. In my own department, over 30 desks have sat untouched for years filled with old notebooks, magazines, and obsolete hardware. For someone returning after five years of remote work, that environment is not neutral. It’s cognitively taxing. Efficiency policies often focus on time and output. Environment is part of the system too.