Have you ever worked in a hot desking system? If so, did you like it? Or, did you find hot desking made you feel anxious and unhappy at work?
The bottom line is that this is an office desking system which is a little like Marmite; you either love hot desking, or you hate it, and there aren’t many feelings which land in the middle of those two extremes.
If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, hot desking is a way of working within a space and in this situation, nobody has their own office desks, and instead, everything is streamlined and looks roughly the same. No desk personalisation, no specific areas you work every single day, and no routine. The upsides are that you can go into the office in the morning and choose where you want to work, depending on what you have to complete that day.
From that description, what do you think about hot desking now?
Most people panic about the fact that they don’t have their own desk, and when you consider the amount of time that we spend sitting at our desks, you can understand why not having somewhere specific to call your work home could be difficult. This leaves no space for family photographs and other types of personalisation, and as a result, you could be left feeling a little cold. Despite that, there are very real benefits to hot desking, mostly in the form of interaction with different colleagues and productivity.
If you’re not sure of the pros and cons of hot desking, check out this infographic below.
Source: www.breathehr.com/blog/drop-it-like-its-hot-desking
Without a doubt, one of the main reasons why many people don’t like hot desking is that there is no routine. You don’t have the same office chairs every day, you don’t have the same view, you don’t sit next to the same people, and for some, this lack of regularity can be enough to cause discomfort. When you take that element away however and you look at the real benefits that can come from using this type of system, you can understand why many businesses still stick with it.
For starters, being able to sit wherever you want is actually quite positive. You can choose the amazing office furniture you want to use that day, you can make sure that you’e sitting somewhere which is ideal for the work you have to complete. In addition, you get to know more people within your organisation, because everyone is moving around much more freely.
The danger is that staff will simply choose to sit at the same ergonomic chairs, in the same spot every day, simply out of routine and won’t utilise the system in the way it is meant to be used. Getting around that danger could be a challenge, especially if you have employees who simply don’t like change. The answer is to ease your staff into the change of system and to explain the very real benefits of the system. Also encouraging them to give it a go, and involving them in the transitional period between systems too. It’s never a good idea to simply tell staff what they need to do and expect that to be the end of it. Remember, if you want morale to remain high, you need to let your staff feel they are valued and listened to.
Having booking systems for in-demand desks and cool office seating is a good idea, to avoid disruptions and potential conflicts. This can easily be done via a manual system or via a software package which allows everyone to look at which spares are free at any given time.
Hot desking doesn’t need to be the office enemy, and if you open your mind to the benefits and give it a real go, you might just find that it’s not only beneficial, but perhaps enjoyable too.