Warning: The following story could trigger panic and guilt about your messy desk.

A new study finds that a majority of employers reported factoring in an emplayee's level of organization when considering annual reviews and pay increases.

That could mean trouble if your desk resembles mine: Random reports and faxes stacked high. Empty soda bottles. Dirty coffee mugs. Broken pens. Moldy pennies. Old notebooks. Cookie crumbs. Out-of-town newspapers. A March electric bill.

Experts on the issue of organization cringe.

"A first impression is formed in about eight seconds. When a client walks through our door, if they see any messy work spaces, I know the message it is communicating and I know it's not the one I want," said Rowena Crosbie, chief executive of Tero International, a West Des Moines executive coaching firm.

Her firm works with companies across the country training employees proper etiquette and organizational skills.

Crosbie knows of a company so concerned about organization in potential new employees that workers will be dispatched to look in the car windows of an applicant's car to see if it is clean while the interview is in progress.

"If there were McDonald's bags and things like that," Crosbie said, "they would assume that the person doesn't have organizational skills."

Conversely, a messy desk could work in your favor. "The other message that it could communicate is a very creative person," she said.

Whichever the case, she said, "be intentional about it. Think about what message you want to send ... with the way you are dressed or with how your body language communicates and with what my environment around me communicates."

While many people can't stand the idea of filing, Sharon Mann, president of I Hate Filing Club, agrees that it is key to success.

Mann is an organizational expert from Pendeflex. Its parent, Esselte, performed a recent survey asking 2,000 employers whether organization played a role in determining a raise or promotion. No surprise to Mann, the survey said a slight majority reported it did.

"When you don't look like you are in control, it could have an effect an how people above you perceive how you are handling the job," she said.

She said it is hard for many employees fresh to the working world to handle the inflow of reports, memos, documents and everything else that seems to pile up.

"They are used to being in a dorm and throwing things around," she said. "It's a big adjustment."

To help, Mann has a Website - www.Ihatefiling.com - with some helpful hints for staying organized:

* Only keep essential documents, such as difficult-to-find reports and important financial information. Worried about what is essential? Keep a drawer or file of documents you are unsure about. Each week - or month - filter through and throw out what's gone unused.

* Keep those documents properly filed and labeled.