Ask Squared Away

How can I convince my messy colleague to organize his office?

You can't! People's tolerance for clutter and messiness varies widely. One person's chaos is another person's comfort zone. Your best bet is to keep your own office in order and MYOB.

If your colleague's situation is affecting your whole group, for example, his office is so buried that he's had to take over the conference room, then you may have to intervene. You could offer to help him dig out or convince your boss to hire a professional organizer to work with him.

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