The Flexibility of Hot Desking

Recently, the practice of hot desking has become more and more popular; especially in start-up companies. It has all of the buzzwords surrounding it that people love. Innovative, cost-effective and flexible working being among them. But, is it really as great as it is made out to be?

There are many reasons why this might appeal to a company, especially a start-up, in order to enable a more mobile workforce that can meet the rigorous demands of a modern office.

Pros

There are a lot of positives to hot desking, it is no wonder it is being used in modern companies both in London and the rest of the country after all.

•         Save money – apparently hot desking can save the running costs of your company at least 30% every month. The process of hot desking means that you can save space in the office, which then in turn saves you money in the long term. The money that is saved can then be invested back into your company and employees. Or alternatively, better technology to make hot-desking even more effective.
•         Cross-departmental mingling – some employees that may have never met can become better-acquainted thanks to hot desking. This can help create a more social office and remove the air of awkwardness that can permeate the air.
•         Improved flexibility – employees come and go, they work from home or only on a Tuesday. Hot desking helps to accommodate all of this movement, if you have employees that are constantly on the move then you also have the facilities to help this become an easier process.

Cons

On the other hand, there are also some downsides that may appear as a result of hot desking.

•         Health – there are some worries that germs will be more easily transferred to a hot desk environment. A sneeze on a keyboard is fine one day, but if someone else were to sit there tomorrow and then the next day they may also become infected. Phones to become a bed of bacteria when shared with a line of coughing employees. Yet, some people argue that as long as bacterial wipes and cleaning hands are regularly applied then this is not an issue.
•         Lack of personalisation – some people state that employees find dissatisfaction in not being able to personalise their own desk. It feels ‘soulless’ in some respects. Employees also do not like taking everything home with them, for fear that it will not be there the next day.
•         Loss of structure – everyone may feel slightly aimless if they do not have a set place, this is especially true for teams that may need to fight to find space for the whole team to work on some days. It can also isolate people from their teams and make working together a much harder process.
•         Tidiness – it also hard to enforce tidiness when you are not entirely sure who the mess belongs to. Who was there on Tuesday? Dan? Steve? It becomes hard to keep track of, causing resentment if someone is forced to clean a mess that is not of their making.

Is it Just a Gimmick?

Ultimately, whether or not hot desking will benefit your company is entirely your decision. Although the type of company that you run, employee satisfaction and office culture should be among your primary considerations when deciding. Listening to your employees and understanding their needs is a great way to assess whether hot-desking will work for your company or not.

Do you want to start a hot desking culture in your office? Do you need help creating an IT strategy to support this? Then contact us on 01524 581690 to discuss your options with our friendly team here at Q2Q-IT, or you can email us at [email protected].