Workplace Hoarders 101

In every workplace there is a hoarder. Count on it. This isthe person (or owner) who saves advertisements, correspondence, miscellaneousreceipts, paper clips and rubber bands. This person always has just what youneed, if only it could be found amidst all the accumulated debris. Living witha hoarder and being a semi-recovered hoarder, I can promise you—there’s abetter way. Here are some strategies for getting your workplace in order.

Invest in organization. Hoarders hate to throw awayanything, but they need a place to put these things. Desktop organizers arehelpful. I like one with small drawers, forcing me to throw away collectedcoupons well past their expiration dates. Appoint someone (other than thehoarder) to keep the storage area within limits. Asking the hoarder to get ridof precious stuff is not just painful, it is time consuming, as he/she needs toreview each item carefully.

Invest in resources. A company scanner may be a goodway to keep information out of sight but always within reach. Once an item isscanned, it hits the trash can! Set up a separate file for each employee.

Relocate. Moving a messy desk to a corner lessvisible is a painless way of forestalling the situation. You are not requiredto fix a broken psyche, but at the same time, you don’t have to let it affecteveryone else in the office.

Offer guidelines. Set dates for desk clean up, andeveryone complies. No one is singled out. It’s an office-wide initiative.

When hoarding really hurts. Paper hoarders areannoying, but not your biggest worry. BenoitConsulting identified two type of hoarders who can make or break yourcompany. Information hoarders need to be identified and given strictboundaries. Does one live in your workplace? Here are the tell-tale signs:

• Withholds or delays passing on vital informationothers need to perform well.
• Manages not to include everyone in notificationsof important meetings, mixes up the dates or times to exclude others.
• Holding onto data access, denying access tocertain others.

Power hoarders sabotage the efforts of others forpersonal aggrandizement. I used to work with a nurse who hid cords to monitorsand always waltzed in to save the day as the person who could solve anyproblem. Some withhold credit where credit is due, others give assignmentsdoomed for failure.

If you are the owner or manager, deal with these destructivebehaviors head-on. Speak directly and offer concrete examples. A person ofpower can offer consequences if nothing changes. If you are caught in a toxicrelationship without power, document what happens. Collect evidence. It maysave your job one day. Rather than confronting the person, look for opportunitiesto collaborate with others.

According to Entrepreneur, yourhoarder may be a genius. Learn to plumb the wealth of information and put it touse. This borderline genius may need a different role within the company topreserve everyone else’s sanity and extract his/her best performance.

Realize that hoarding has come into its own as a mentalcondition, both legally protected and within the scope of treatment. Referringa person for treatment may be a last recourse, but don’t hesitate if you feellike what you are seeing is the tip of the iceberg. Consult your HR departmentwhen legalities come into play. Potential hoarders are hard to spot in hiringinterviews, so odds are that at some point in time you will run into one. Icould write a volume on this topic, so please don’t feel like I’m hoardingnecessary information. I am simply out of space.