5 Items You Should Never Put in Your Cubicle

By Taylor Dupuy
Monster Contributing Writer

Your cubicle is your little bit of turf in the office. It’s normal to want to organize it the way you like and bring in some decorations to personalize it a bit. Still, you can’t forget it really belongs to your employer and is out in the open for anyone who walks by to see. Keep things professional by not bringing these five items into your cubicles.

Small Animals
Hooray for offices that have pet policies, but in most cases an office cubicle is no place to keep a pet. “Even in cages, small pets including mice, turtles or reptiles do not belong in an open office space, says Kathi Elster, co-author of “Working with You Is Killing Me.” “And others may have an allergy.”

Enough Supplies to Stock a Staples
Office supplies are one of the simple pleasures in life. The satisfaction that comes from a good pen can be overwhelming. But, as with anything, there’s a line you shouldn’t cross, such as office supplies you don't need, says Bill Connolly, author of “Funny Business: Build Your Soft Skills Through Comedy” “I say this specifically to the people who hover over the cubicles of people who have quit or been let go, and somehow end up with the best gadgets and organizational items, four brand new monitors, while everyone else is struggling to get an order for some new 5 cent notebooks,” Connolly explains.

Targets
It’s safe to say, across-the-board, you shouldn’t be engaging in any form of target practice in your cubicle. And definitely avoid displaying “targets with your boss or colleagues photos on it,” says Debra Benton, author of “The Virtual Executive: How to Act Like a CEO Online and Offline.” “Why? You have to be a really, really good salesman to convince management that it’s part of a marketing campaign to be ‘on target’ vs making a person ‘a target.’”

Bottles of Alcohol
Unless you have received specific permission to drink on the job, it’s best to keep alcohol bottles -- even the empty ones that are “just for decoration,” out of your cubicle. Empty bottles of whiskey don’t make you look good, says Benton. The fact that they’re empty shows you already drank the liquor and could make people wonder what’s really in your coffee mug.

But Seriously, Anything Offensive
On a more serious note, it is important to keep your cubicle free of offensive decorations and affiliations. “Employees should never put anything in their cubicles that may be construed as denigrating to any group. Stated more specifically, one should never put anything that might potentially be seen as offensive to people of a particular sex, race, sexual orientation, age, etc.,” says Caren Goldberg, a human resource management professor at The American University Kogod School of Business. “Organizations are required to provide a workplace free from harassment. ” Along those lines, John Thompson, executive director of career services at Texas Christian University says “never put up political posters and do not display religious symbols. If your political idol happens to flame out, get in trouble, smoke crack, you will be the butt of all jokes. If you happen to exhibit behavior other than that of a true believer of your religious symbol, you will be called a hypocrite or fake. Bottom line: Your credibility and judgment will forever be called into question."