If you haven’t heard, hot desking is the opposite of a traditional workplace, where instead of being tied to a specific desk, employees have the freedom to choose their ideal workspace for the day.

While this approach offers a range of benefits, such as increased collaboration and flexibility, it also comes with some drawbacks that mightn’t suit your company. So, before you go implementing the approach, we suggest weighing it up with our list of pros and cons to decide if this system is right for your business and employees.

Pros:

Saves money

Looking to minimise your real estate expenses? Companies that adopt a hot desking approach, can look at reducing the number of desks needed in their office, and in turn, reduce their office space (particularly if their employees regularly work from home). So, if your employees often work remotely, hot desking could be a financially beneficial option to consider.

Boosts work productivity

It’s commonly known that a change of scenery can help boost our productivity levels! And as hot desking requires constant shifting throughout the office, employees might experience a boost in their work efficiency, productivity, and creativity levels.

Encourages collaboration

Choosing a different desk each day also encourages spontaneous collaboration. Sitting next to different colleagues can foster a diverse exchange of ideas and perspectives, proving beneficial for ongoing projects and tasks, which could improve the content and specialties your company delivers to clients and customers.

Cons:

Lack of structure & no sense of belonging

Although, not having a set desk may appear daunting to those who appreciate the structure of an office. Some employees might dislike constantly having to set up their workspace and may lose their documents or personal belongings in the process. This could leave employees feeling unorganised, leading to frustration, and a lack of concentration.

A lack of structure may also inadvertently affect the company culture as it lacks in personalisation. If your employees are accustomed to having their own desks, they could begin to miss that sense of belonging in the office—which is imperative for all employees to have.

Could waste time

Selecting and setting up a new workstation each day can become somewhat time-consuming. Your employees might spend most of their morning searching for an available desk, negotiating with colleagues over which workstation to use, and organising their belongings which can waste valuable company time that could’ve been spent on vital and urgent tasks.

An increase in workplace distractions

The daily change in seating arrangements might also make it difficult for the teams in a company to work together, leading to communication barriers and hindering the flow of information. The distractions of hunting down colleagues might disrupt the overall workflow of other employees and cause disorder, especially if your office has been functioning with set desks for a long period of time.

REMEMBER to keep in mind before implementing hot desking—or any other modern workplace strategies—to openly discuss the advantages and disadvantages with your employees so they remain satisfied within their roles.

Have a question for us? If you’re a job seeker on the lookout for your next role, a hiring manager looking to fill a position, or want to know more about this topic, contact us at Humanised Group! We’re here to help you succeed.