'Clean Desk' Policies: Latest Executive Fad Designed To Torment Workers?

A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, the saying goes -- which may explain why Australian company BHP Billiton's rule book, leaked to the Australian Financial Review, made a big deal about employee desks. According to the publication, employees "have to clean their desks every day of all but eight objects -- their monitors, keyboards, mouse, mouse pad, telephone handset and headset, one A5 photo frame and, should they need it, a footstool, gel wrist pad or other ergonomic equipment."