Karen Rauch Carter

According to environmental psychology and the timeless rules of feng shui, the more stable and well placed the desk, the more successful the person is who sits there. As a feng shui consultant for almost twenty years, I have noticed a “desk trend” that I believe may be one of the keys to reversing this current weakened economy. The trend is this: workers have traded in their four-walled, closed-doored office with the solid wood, dedicated-to-one-worker desk for a migrating laptop on the floor, bed, lap, kitchen counter, or, you know where I’m going… a space at a table at Starbucks — screaming espresso-maker included. Could applying this one feng shui rule to workspaces turn the economy around? According to the success stories that I get from my clients who have traded in their roaming-laptop office for a permanent “money-making space” I say, it certainly could at a minimum make a dent!

So, what does the optimal feng-shuied, money-making space include? 1. A good chair: the taller the back the better. If it has arms on the side, you’ve scored even bigger. (You never see a king’s throne with no back or arms do you?)The chair also can’t teeter or wobble in any way. No one wants an off-balance worker… 2. A good desk. I repeat: desk. That does not mean anything that you would describe as a “table” or “counter” a “door on saw horses” or any other furniture item. (Don’t get me started on the lap!) Preferably, the desk should be made of opaque materials (like wood instead of glass), and although this sounds obvious, (I’ve seen the opposite too many times to count,) it must be big enough to “do the job.” As a matter of fact, I’d say, make it big enough to do a bigger job than what you’ve got to actually increase your job opportunities. 3. A good chair and desk location. Essential to this economy-turning mix is the actual placement of the desk. “The more space in front of your face, the more opportunities you’ll have.” Hold it right there if you want to debate this. I’m telling you, do NOT face a wall or else you’ll be beating your head against the wall with everything you do with your career. Chuck that stupid furniture piece that hides your office in an armoire (that is hiding you from jobs!) or forces you to face a shelf or wall (dunce position) because of its design. A proper desk put in a “CEO position” (where your back is to a solid wall (no window or door behind you) and where you can see whoever enters the room) is the optimal job-getting, prosperity-creating, climb -the-corporate-ladder position. DO NOT try to justify otherwise. The cost of this new desk in this new position will pay for itself. If you do not have a dedicated room for an office, carve out a space in another room (preferably not in your bedroom) to set this little scene up. Imagine that you are a set designer and you have to design a set for a powerful, rich, business person. What kind of stuff is appropriate to use in this scene? Design your space that way. So, will you join my economy changing experiment by creating PERMANENT office space? Please do and let me know your results!