Hot-desking

Hot-desking refers to the practice where employees do not have a dedicated desk. This concept of shared workstations and a flexible approach to office space has gained popularity with the rise of remote and hybrid work. However, alongside its many advantages, it also has drawbacks, particularly noted by employees accustomed to having their own designated spot in the office. What does implementing such a system involve for an organisation, and in which industries can it yield the best results?

Table of contents:

1. What is hot-desking?
2. What are the benefits of hot-desking?
3. What are the disadvantages of hot-desking?
4. In which industries is hot-desking suitable?
5. How to implement a hot-desking policy?

What is hot-desking?

Hot-desking is a practice of sharing workstations in an office. This means employees are not assigned permanent desks, as is typically the case in an open-plan office. Instead, they can use any available workstation in the office space, provided it's not occupied on that particular day.

In practice, hot-desking usually involves using an electronic system for reserving desks. Upon arriving at the office, employees indicate their need for a specific workstation for the day. Once assigned, they adapt it to their needs, typically by setting up their laptop, documents, and other essential work tools. At the end of the day, the employee clears their belongings and tidies the desk, making it available for anyone else to use the following day.

Although hot-desking has only recently gained popularity in Poland following the widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work, the concept is not new. Its principles are linked to the activity-based working (ABW) concept, developed in the 1980s, which proposes that office space should be divided into zones tailored to specific and changing tasks and employee needs. The Dutch insurance company Interpolis, a pioneer of this solution, still uses hot-desking today.

What are the benefits of hot-desking?

If a hot-desking system aligns with a company's organisational culture, it can bring numerous benefits to both employees and the business itself. The main advantages of hot-desking include:

• Flexibility – allows employees to choose a workspace suited to the tasks they need to complete on a given day.
• Integration – fosters more interactions between employees from different departments.
• Skill exchange and development – provides opportunities to sit next to specialists whose expertise is most relevant at a particular moment.
• Project work support – enables teams to select a shared space when working on a specific project.
• Increased innovation – stimulates employee creativity through varied work environments and contact with people from different departments.
• Hybrid work support – makes it easier for employees to choose a suitable workspace for tasks that can only be completed in the office.
• Better space utilisation – workstations are only used when needed, allowing for reduced office space or maximisation of its full potential.
• Orderliness – encourages care for shared spaces and prevents the accumulation of 'creative clutter' at workstations.

What are the disadvantages of hot-desking?

A study titled "Professional Lifestyle" conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia for Pracuj.pl in July 2020 revealed that 53% of employees view hot-desking negatively, and 57% consider an ideal workplace to be one where everyone has their own desk. The disadvantages of hot-desking include:

• Lack of a personal space and privacy – causing discomfort for employees who value having their own corner and feel a sense of belonging to the company through it.
• Difficulty in building deep team relationships – teams may not integrate as effectively when only sitting amongst their own group.
• Competition for better spots – coupled with pressure to arrive as early as possible.
• Administrative problems – related to potential lack of space during sudden employee surges or incorrect assessment of demand for specific zones.
• Requirement for self-organisation – employees must show a great deal of extra initiative to ensure individual comfort or coordinate joint activities.
• Time-consuming workstation setup – unpacking work tools and subsequently tidying up takes valuable time each day.

In which industries is hot-desking suitable?

Hot-desking is a system particularly well-suited for industries such as:

• IT – employees in this sector often work remotely and only need access to a laptop and the internet. Hot desks thus reduce the problem of workstations being empty for most of the week.
• Marketing – creative work can benefit from the exchange of experiences, and it is often project-based, which hot-desking strongly supports.
• Services – hot-desking policy is also becoming an increasingly popular solution in the banking, insurance, and consulting sectors. These are typically office-based industries that, with the advancement of digitalisation, can significantly optimise space utilisation without having to expand their footprint when hiring new specialists.
• Start-ups – dynamic work in small teams, focused on solving problems that vary depending on the stage of product development, project, or the entire start-up, practically demands flexibility. Being tied to one location definitely does not serve them well.

The feasibility of implementing a hot-desking policy is not solely dependent on the industry. It often also depends on the organisational culture and employee expectations. Generally, hot-desking is viewed more favourably by dynamic individuals involved in project-based work and diverse relationships. If team cohesion within the company has previously relied on strong integration within individual teams or departments, disrupting this dynamic can be extremely uncomfortable for employees.

How to implement a hot-desking policy?

Implementing hot-desking in an organisation is not a process that can be rushed. It primarily requires an in-depth analysis of current and potential employee needs regarding space. Only on this basis can individual and collaborative work zones, client meeting areas, and even relaxation spaces be designed. Physical adaptation of the office must go hand-in-hand with the selection of an electronic reservation system, as well as the design of processes that facilitate employees in daily arrangement of their work tools. In many cases, ensuring the security of confidential data will be an additional challenge.

If a pre-existing organisational culture is one of the obstacles to implementing the hot-desking concept, the entire process can be significantly prolonged. Providing an adequate number of comfortable desks, ergonomic chairs, or additional screens is no challenge compared to effectively communicating the necessity and rationale behind the changes. Company training and workshops must be conducted with sensitivity to the concerns of individuals accustomed to having their own designated spot in the office.

After implementing a hot-desking system, the company should ensure that the lack of individual workstations does not lead to a lack of a sense of belonging to the workplace. Potential dissatisfaction with the new arrangements can also be exacerbated by a lack of perceived equality. If employees observe that a group of individuals is treated differently and, contrary to the reservation system, can permanently choose their spot, this will certainly not help build trust in the hot-desking policy.