Hot desking
You may have heard the term hot desking a lot recently and that’s simply because more and more companies are doing it.
So what is hot desking?
Hot desking is the idea that each employee is not assigned a particular desk but instead given the variety to work wherever they please. This may be at a desk, in a break out area or even the cafe, today’s office design is now created around employee needs- with the need for flexible work spaces and hot desks rising companies are adapting to this.
However, like every new trend there are the positives, negatives and of course everybody has their own opinion. So, this blog is going to talk about not just the positives but also what some people perceive as negatives towards hot desking.
Then if you decide to adapt your office to cater for hot desking then we can provide you with all the essentials you will need.
Let’s talk positives
- Hot desking makes perfect sense for those employees that do not spend all day in the office, such as sales staff that are regularly out of the office. Their desk may sit empty for a large portion of the day, to maximise efficiency, use of space these desks could be used as hot desks.
- Enables creativity and freedom to your own work style– Creating hot desks can simply be a way of removing barriers to collaboration and as a result this can connect your employees further. A well designed bench desk can enable a group of employees to work closely together and as a team
- Hot desking allows you to organise your office around the needs of your staff. Which quite frankly is what today’s office design is all about, breaking traditions and enabling creativity. Some employees may only need a desk to simply check an email, or quickly make a phone call. However, a desk is not the only option we can provide chairs with laptop stands and multimedia booth seating.
- Avoid a negative environment- Some employees may dread coming to work because of the employee they have been placed next too. Therefore, if they are sitting next to an employee they do not get along with hot desking allows them to move around to avoid awkward office confrontations. ( which may have a positive impact on their productivity)
- Promotes an active office environment- We have covered in other blogs the importance of keeping active in the office, such as sit-stand desk and making sure you take regular breaks. Of course you will have heard the headlines
sitting is the new smokingetc. Hot desking could be the answer to make your employees move around that little bit more and make the most of your office space.
And of course there are always some negatives to cover…
- Employees that do not have a desk of their own have a weaker sense of cohesion within a team
- Many employees also feel a sense of belonging and desire to call a space their own.
- Employees are no longer able to decorate their desks with family photos and other personal items, this for some people was a motivator and created a more pleasant environment.
- A reduction in assigned desks can lead to over crowding and even confrontation, higher status employees may find it a power trick and feel they deserve a desk of their own.
Hot desking is not for every company and may not suit your employees needs, but a change every now and again is never a bad thing.
So if you do think hot desking will work in your office here is a bit of advice from Bevlan…
- Make sure it makes sense for your line of work
- Find out what your employees think of the idea, before you just do it.
- Don’t just flip the switch overnight, give your employees chance to take on the change.
- Add a couple workstations and encourage employees to try moving around more first.
Here are some of the best products we suggest for making your workstation fully adaptable…
Adjustable monitor arms and laptop/ tablet stands.
These two products are not only ergonomic but also allow the worker to set the monitor or laptop to their optimial height. This perfect for a hot desk set up as employees optimial height differs. These products make the hot desk easy to adjust to suit the different workers that use it throughout the day. For those who prefer to work on their tablet or laptop, it prevents them slouching over and aids them use to an ergonomically assessed workstation.
Sit./ Stand desks
As we mentioned earlier it has been reported that sitting at a desk all day isn’t great for your health, therefore more and more companies are encouraging the use of standing desks. Hot desks may be the way to easily introduce standing desks to your office environment, in particular for the use of sales people who enter the office for short periods of time. Encouraging them to stand at their desk rather than sit could be easier with hot desking facilities.
When arriving at your hot desk you need to be able to plug and charge your devices without crawling under desks and messing with wires. Modular power systems are a great way of ensuring you have sufficient power and still allowing the desk to look presentable.
We can offer tables with power flaps, cable trays to hide wires, wireless phone chargers and much much more!
We offer a range of wireless chargers suitable for all phone types.
Even if your hot desk is used to simply charge your phone we have got you covered
Some state that having nowhere to put their personal items is a disadvantage to hot desking, however as always we have a solution.
Using lockers instead of drawers, enable employees to keep their personal items safe as well as keeping the hot desk tidy.
Tidy desk= tidy mind after all.
Check out the range of lockers we supply- https://www.bevlan.com/products/storage-solutions/
Or if you dont think lockers would match your office interior, then why not go for some alternative storage solutions.
Such as these great credenzas that really make your office stand out, as well as still giving you the space lockers provide.
Click here
So if you have decided to give hot desking a try, or if you are already doing it and would like some of our equipment..
Please contact us today- Call 01254 876666 Email- info@bevlan.com and visit our website for more info- www.bevlan.com
