What should be the rules for decorating your work area?

You too, huh? I got everything from a picture of my hunting camp to a set (of two) Living Dead Dolls. Sometimes I have fake body parts laying around but that is mostly during zombie walk season.

I never really understood people who felt they had to cover every square inch with crap, whether in their homes or in an office cubicle. At one place I worked, a senior supervisor had ever surface of her office covered with frogs of every size and description. I thought it was unprofessional and cheesey.

Working in local government, the rules vary from place to place, but generally they all include:

  • Nothing political, or which could be perceived as violating the Hatch Act.

  • Nothing that could be seen as offensive by other employees or a reasonnable person.

  • Modest personal expressions of faith are usually tolerated (mezuzot, Rosary beads, etc), along with secularized holiday decorations (e.g. light strings, wreaths, bunnies). More evangelistic displays are frowned upon.

I work in an academic research lab, so our standards are pretty relaxed when it comes to this type of thing. Politics and religion wouldn’t be an immediate no, but you should be ready to discuss/defend your stance. We’re just that kind of people. :cool:

The big no’s for me are noise and smells. Scented candles, strongly scented flowers, etc. are impossible for others to get away from. I’d love to extend this to the overkill lotions that some of the women in the department wear, too.

The noise restriction doesn’t include music. I’m talking about little desk trinkets that make noises. One woman has a perpetual motion machine that ticks fairly loudly at every swing. It may not bother her, but it makes me want to throw it off the roof. Good thing I don’t share an office with her.