Hot desking key to productivity?

What is Hot Desking?

The ‘art’ of hot desking is not a new concept, but it is one that is growing in popularity in businesses around the world.

It is quite easy to be swept into the same routines and close the world off by just sitting at your personal desk all day. A way that companies can mix things up a bit and generate more productivity is by introducing hot desking.

Hot desking basically involves multiple workers using a desk or work place at different times of the day and can have a number of benefits for a business.

This said, there are some negatives to the concept that are important to remember.

Positives

A major positive to hot desking is that it helps employees get to know fellow colleagues. This can be a problem when you sit in the same desk everyday. This can garner new ideas and concepts and improve employee morale.

Furthermore, University of Wolverhampton research on hot desking has revealed that moving around can promote innovation.

“If a team is dynamic and different people work together at different times, you can choose to sit with them and that could improve performance for that piece of work. There is also a suggestion that non-territorial offices enable the generation of ideas,” said University of Wolverhampton Occupational Psychologist Dr Jane Carstairs.

Negatives

One of the biggest negatives to hot desking is the lack of consistency and environmental changes. If the team keeps moving around, each day there are new sounds, sights and distractions that can reduce productivity.

It can also drive a lack of employee identity as there is no one place in the building that is their personal sanctuary. This can lower motivation and increase stress levels.

Apart from rearranging the desks, employers can install HRMS software that can streamline resourcing processes no matter where you are sitting in the office.