The hidden language of the office PC wallpaper
For some people, choosing wallpaper for their PC at home is a conscious declaration of what they hold most dear in their life: their family, hobbies, tastes in art, travel aspirations and so on. For others, the wallpaper is merely a functional thing; a background to stick your shortcut icons on and hardly worth a moment’s thought.
The work-PC is an entirely different breed altogether. Although a person’s attitude towards PC wallpapers might still be same, what they feel comfortable prominently displaying on their work screen is often a very different matter to what they have at home.
Here’s a list of popular choices for work-PC wallpaper themes that suggest the very best and worst of what your colleagues will think of you if you slap it up there. In all offices across the county, from the most perfunctory of office temps to the man in the gleaming office, everyone’s wallpaper says something, even if it’s saying nothing.
Default Wallpaper Settings
Good: You are an enthusiastic, diligent worker and probably have too much important stuff going on to be messing about with your wallpaper.
Bad: For you, the work place is a bland, emotionless prison where imagination goes to die. The PC wallpaper is a physical representation of this.
Calming scenery
Good: You like nature and have a calm, collected manner about you. You feel that a wallpaper of serene, picturesque scenery reminds you not to allow stress to get you down at work. Either that or you’re subconsciously expressing an interest in exploring new career choices such as GIS jobs or becoming a National Geographic photographer.
Bad: The thought of this serene lakeside mountain is the one thing standing between you and a fully fledged incident of “going postal”.
A Picture of You Doing the Most Impressive Thing You’ve Ever Done in Your Life
Good: You are a go-getter and want to remind yourself to always keep pushing yourself to achieve new and exciting things.
Bad: You are an arrogant jerk who simply will not shut up about that mountain climbing expedition you made five years ago.
Motivational Poster
Good: Everyone needs a bit of the lolz to perk them up on a Monday morning, and you’re no different.
Bad: Similar to calming scenery, you need a snappy one-liner on a Monday morning to stop you from hurling yourself from the office building roof.
Your Perfect Family
Good: You love your family and catching a quick glimpse of them between minimizing different windows is enough to make you smile and set to your next task with greater enthusiasm, knowing that after work you can rush on home to them.
Bad: You want everyone in the office to know how happy you are, since secretly you feed off the unhappiness of the “singles”.
Hot girl/Hot guy
Good: You are very secure in your job, knowing that your superiors are cool and laid back and a little picture of a semi-naked being of physical beauty on your PC isn’t going to matter one iota.
Bad: It’s your last day and you thought a little bit of borderline risqué business on your PC screen would get tongues wagging before your departure!
The Latest Hit Movie
Good: You’re clued up on pop culture. You like to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the world of movie entertainment.
Bad: You haven’t seen that movie, you have no intention of going to see it. You are desperate to appear current and trendy in order to try and cover the fact that deep down, you think every film made after Four Weddings and a Funeral is terrible and the youth of today don’t know what they were missing.
World of Warcraft
Good: There are no positives. Leave WoW for when you get home, or search for IT jobs so that you can hang out at work with like-minded fans!
Bad: You play too much World of Warcraft.
Adorable Animals
Good: You are a gentle and loving person. The thought of any kind of violence disturbs you greatly and when you daydream, the subjects of your idle musings are consistently pleasant and relaxed, filling you with a sense of with well-being.
Bad: You simply must distract yourself with a picture of a cute bunny/kitten/etc to avoid the painful remembrance that you haven’t had a meaningful relationship in years.
images: © Nick Chill Photography, © Caroline et Louis VOLANT, © Trey Ratcliff, © Leonardo Pallotta, © Jeff Carter, © Jason Bachman, © jkuttarkabat, © HimmelrichPR, © SobControllers, © Pete + Lynne