Managers and office busybodies might be keen on a clean desk - but it seems that in terms of productivity, they could have it all wrong.

经理和办公室里那些好管闲事的人，都热衷于督促别人让办公桌看起来整洁有序。但目前的研究表示，要是考虑到员工的工作效率，他们可是大错特错了。

A messy desk can actually lead people towards clearer thinking, say researchers from Germany.

来自德国研究人员的研究表明，凌乱的办公桌会让人的思维更清晰。

The researchers found in a series of linked studies - using a messy desk and a messy shop front - that people actually thought more clearly when all around was chaos, as they sought to simplify the tasks at hand.

研究者利用凌乱的办公桌和杂乱的商店橱窗进行了一系列的相关实验，结果发现在周围是一片混乱的情况时，人们的思维其实会更清晰，他们会力求简单化手边的工作。

Visual and mental clutter forces human beings to focus and think more clearly. Famous thinkers and writers such as Albert Einstein and Roald Dahl have been notorious for their untidy desks.

视觉和心理的杂乱会迫使人们集中精力，而且更能理清思路。 的物理学家爱因斯坦和作家罗尔德·达尔的办公桌就都非常的凌乱。

'Messy desks may not be as detrimental as they appear to be, as the problem-solving approaches they seem to cause can boost work efficiency or enhance employees' creativity in problem solving,' say the authors.

研究者们表示：“凌乱的办公桌看上去很不好，但其实并非如此。凌乱的办公桌可能会帮助员工找到解决问题的办法，这样可以提高工作效率，还能提高员工在解决问题方面的创造性。”

The scientists tested people's response in various 'messy' environments - including a messy shop front, a disorganized desk, and even a work environment where a language task 'reminded' people of messiness.

科学家们测试了人们在各种不同的“凌乱”环境中的反应，包括凌乱的商店橱窗，杂乱无条理的办公桌，还有一个特殊工作环境（会有语言功能不断的提醒人们这里太乱了）。

The authors found in the series of six studies people tended towards simplicity in their thinking.

研究人员在一系列共六个研究中发现，人们都倾向于让思维简单化清晰化。

'They categorized products in a simpler manner, were willing to pay more for a t-shirt that depicts a simple-looking picture, and sought less variety in their choices,' said the researchers.

研究者说：“他们会用更简单的方式对物品进行分类，更愿意买带着简单图案的T恤衫，他们的选择也会缺乏多样性。”