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Clean desk policy
A clean desk policy requires employees to clear their desk completely at the end of the day – a precondition for desk sharing and an information security measure at the same time.
In short
A clean desk policy is a binding rule to clear the desk completely at the end of the working day: no documents, no devices, no personal items. It is the organizational precondition for desk sharing and simultaneously an information security measure, because confidential material does not stay out in the open.
Two justifications, one rule
The clean desk policy is justified from two directions that are rarely considered together. From the desk sharing angle it is simply necessary: a desk still covered in yesterday's paperwork is not bookable. From the information security angle it prevents confidential documents, notes with credentials or unlocked devices from being accessible overnight – a point that regularly appears in ISO 27001-oriented management systems.
What a workable rule contains
In practice four elements: a clear statement of what has to leave the desk at the end of the day; a storage solution, usually personal or bookable lockers; a rule for multi-day project work, for example reservable project areas; and a statement on how violations are handled. Without the second point the rule almost always fails – you cannot ask people to clear their desk without giving them somewhere to put things.
From the definition to your own offices
Terminology is where an evaluation starts, not where it ends. Thirty minutes with the product open turns the concept into your floor plan.