Hot Desking : Meaning, Pros and Cons

What is Hot Desking?

Hot desking is when people can pick where they want to work instead of having their own special space. Instead of having a fixed place to work, people can sit wherever they want. This can help people be more creative and work with others from different areas.

Hot desking is a newer way of working in the office where people don’t have their desks. Instead, they can sit wherever there’s an empty desk. This can be good because people can choose a desk that works best for them each day. It is a flexible work arrangement in which staff members use any vacant workspace in the office on a first-come, first-served basis rather than having assigned workstations. This idea fits into the larger trend of flexible office spaces and activity-based working. It also helps people to work together and share ideas. Hot desking saves space and money, but it can also cause problems, like not always having a desk available. To make hot desking work well, good communication and technology are important.

Pros of Hot-Desking

1. Money Saving: With desk sharing, people share the things they need at work. This means the company doesn’t have to buy things for each person. Also, desk sharing saves money on rent and leases. For example, if half the people work in the office, the company only needs half the space.

2. Flexibility: A hot desk is a place where people can work when they need to, and they can use all the things they need for work. This is helpful for people who don’t come to work every day, like people who sell things and give advice.

3. Social Workplace: Sharing desks at work brings people closer and helps them get to know each other better. It also makes it easier for people to make friends. Hot desk workspaces also help people socialize more because they sit in different places and with different people every day.

4. Offer Equality: In a typical workplace where everyone has their place to work, some people might have a better place than others, maybe by a window or with a better chair. But in a hot desk place, everyone can use any place, so everyone gets the same good things, no matter what their job is.

5. Keeps the workspace tidy: Employees don’t have their own desks, so it helps to keep things tidy. They can only use a desk when they are in the office. At the end of the day, they take their things with them so that papers don’t build up and the workspace stays clean.

Cons of Hot-Desking

1. Incompatible with traditional work environments: A desk-sharing system is best for offices where people work hybrids. But not all companies can use it. Also, people who need to move a lot of information from one computer to another may not like it. And even programmers may not find it helpful.

2. Distraction & Conflict: It can also cause problems at work. People might argue about where to sit and get distracted from their work.

3. Space issues: Not having enough flexible workspaces for the employees who want to come in at the same time.

4. Difficulty in finding Space: sometimes it’s hard for a group to find space together. Companies can solve this by letting the team book a space ahead of time. They can use apps to pick where they want to sit before, they get to work.

5. Health Issues: When people share a workspace, they can also share germs. If someone is sick and uses a desk, then someone else uses it soon after, it can make other people sick too. To stop this, a company might have a very strict cleaning and germ-killing rule.

6. Challenging to accommodate special needs: At work, some employees have different needs for their office space. It can be hard to meet all of these needs. Even if a shared workspace is able to meet these special needs, these employees might not get all the same benefits as others. They might not be able to use things like a printer, bathroom, or kitchen.

Why has Hot-Desking become more common?

In India, you can see that companies like WeWork, and 91Springboard provide coworking facilities with Hot-desking because of their demands. Hot-Desking become more common because of their attractive features:

1. Access to power outlets and phones: Hot desks are usually equipped with power outlets and Wi-Fi. In coworking spaces, there are separate areas away from the desk where you can make phone calls. These can be small rooms or shared lounges.

2. Bookable meeting rooms: In coworking spaces, you can reserve meeting rooms using an app or a website. Certain places also let you use shared lounges, kitchens, brainstorming areas, and conference rooms. They also connect you with professionals all over the world.

3. Private space: Many jobs require privacy while working, for things like meetings or talking about finances. These conversations are too important for shared desks, especially when there are people from other teams or companies around and require a more private space. Private offices and coworking spaces have rooms you can book for private meetings or important calls. Some places also have soundproof phone booths and special lounges where you can have private conversations.

4. Technology and internet: Offices with hot-desking should have Wi-Fi. Some people need more than a laptop to work well like a monitor and a VGA, DVI, or HDMI connection, allowing users to plug in and use a second screen and also most importantly free coffee.

5. Storing personal items: One problem with hot-desking is that people don’t have a place to keep their things. Different places have different solutions to this problem. Some coworking spaces let people leave their stuff at the desk for a little while. Others have lockers or small spaces for people to put their things. In private offices, people usually stay at the same desk all day, even if they have meetings or lunch breaks.

6. Printing facilities: Typically, hot desk spaces offer a central printer that employees can access from a phone application or website log-in. It makes printing easier for employees who depend on printed sheets for completing their day-to-day activities.

7. Space for personal items: In some offices, employees can leave their things at a shared desk for a certain time while they go to lunch or meetings. Sometimes, there are special lockers and areas for employees to keep their stuff.

8. Bathrooms and kitchens: Hot desk workspaces are like regular offices. They have kitchen and bathroom facilities. The office management takes care of cleaning and maintaining these spaces.

Conclusion

Hot desking typically uses software that allows employees to view which desks are available at the office on a given day and time. They can then book the seat they’d like to work from for a full or partial day. Depending on how an office is set up, workers might bring their laptop or might already have a computer at the desk that they can sign in to with their credentials to access company data. Overall, hot desking reflects a shift towards more agile and responsive work environments.