Sitcom fans of a certain age will remember the Steptoe and Son episode Divided We Stand. It’s the one where the pair splits up the house, even installing a turnstile in the hallway, so that Harold can safeguard his “aesthetic moments” and Albert can continue to wallow in junk-filled squalor.
It’s a British comedy classic, but the story is actually based on an episode of the 1950s US series I Love Lucy entitled Men are Messy, made more than 20 years earlier. The difference is that in I Love Lucy the underpinning gag is all about gender.
It’s by no means a trope-free zone, but I Love Lucy is often cited as a cultural landmark for feminism. A sitcom built around a woman was, after all, unheard of at the time. It’s the strong-willed, free-thinking Lucy who imposes a partition on the household, telling her incredulous husband: “I’ll keep my half the way I want to, and you keep your half any way you please.”
Now fast-forward to the present day and imagine this happening in an office space, instead of a home. How many people honestly feel their workspace is theirs to mould as they see fit?
A decade ago a visiting female academic surveyed a (female) colleague’s office and declared that the array of family photos was not just unprofessional but anti-feminist. We were taken aback, to say the least. We had always thought a few pictures brightened up the place and gave it a more human touch. But we were told that they undermined academic credibility and, worse still, evoked associations that feminists had fought long and hard to challenge.
Irrespective of whether the accuser was right or wrong, the criticism did make me notice something. I became aware that very few men, especially those in senior roles, had similar displays in their own offices. But those who did were not seen as being unprofessional.
I went on to carry out research in this area, and interviewed dozens of female office workers. I found that many do choose to personalise their workspaces – with holiday pictures, degree certificates, plants, lamps and other decorative touches.
But why? Yes, we want to reflect our identities and commitments beyond the world of work – but who, deep down, are we really reflecting them to? Here are some of the motivations we discovered:
You do it to please your colleagues
You’re conscious of how your workspace will be perceived by others – you may want to appear cheery or welcoming. You’re pleased when your fellow workers make positive remarks. In the words of one respondent: “I’m a bit of an approval junkie.”
You do it to impress your colleagues
There’s a subtle difference between “please” and “impress”. The latter is more about projecting a certain image – whether that’s about appearing professional, approachable or even as a well-rounded person. As one respondent said: “I’m here to do a job, and I want people to see I’m aware of that.”
You do it because you feel it’s expected of you
This is more a nebulous motivation. You can’t put your finger on a particular reason, but you’re driven by a sense that there’s an informal, tacit requirement to which you should conform. So you do.
You don’t do it at all, because you don’t feel you should
Someone or something has convinced you that the idea of workspace personalisation is wrong. And so there’s no space given over to family photos, kids’ drawings, postcards – with the possible exception of your desk drawer.
It would be unrealistic to claim that none of this applies to men, of course. But it would also be wrong to dismiss the impact that these issues can have on women – especially when there’s a wealth of research that shows they are much more likely to feel invisible and to suffer from imposter syndrome. We can still struggle to fit in, to adapt and to make our workplaces our own, in various ways.
So what’s the answer? Should we draw lines – not just figuratively, but literally – as per Lucy? Should we follow the Steptoes’ lead and erect turnstiles that guide us to our own dedicated enclaves?
The most effective solution is easy to articulate but tougher to realise: we just have to be ourselves. We mustn’t be afraid or intimidated. We can’t allow ourselves to be held back by unwritten or unspoken rules. We need to acknowledge that each of us is by no means alone and that our fears and inhibitions aren’t unique. And yes, my colleague still has her photos.
Laurie Cohen is a professor of work and organisation at the University of Nottingham Business School and author of Imagining Women’s Careers. The research discussed here was carried out with Professor Melissa Tyler of the University of Essex.
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