One of the most revealing things about a person is their workspace. Not only can a person’s office or desk reveal how they like to work, it can shed light on deep-seated psychological and personality traits, says Colin Ellard, an environmental psychologist and professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Waterloo, whose latest book, Places of the Heart, explores how our workspaces and other daily environments affect us and those around us.
"For many of us, other than the room where we sleep, our office is the place where we log more hours than anywhere else, so (it) can be very revealing," says Ellard. And it’s not just whether a person chooses to keep their desk neat or messy that reveals something about them.