Blowing Hot & Cold -Desking Article
Published July 31, 2007 at 1:12 pm · Filed under Features
Office workers are ambivalent about hot desking policies, according to a new survey by Project Office Furniture
Since the 1990s businesses have used hot desking strategies to reduce their need for office space and achieve significant cost savings. As workers have become more mobile and office rents have risen, many businesses have challenged the notion that each worker should have their own desk, arguing that it makes more sense for workers who spend a lot of time out of the office to book desk space as and when they need it.
Sharing desks in this way means that fewer desks are required by an organisation, enabling them to move to smaller premises, delay a move to larger premises, rent out office space or use the space saved for another purpose. No wonder employers like the notion of hot desking.
But what about their employees? According to Project Office Furniture, part of OEP Group, they are much less enamoured with the concept. Its survey of 200 office workers found that more than two thirds (67%) disliked hot desking and that almost as many would be less likely to accept a job if it meant that they had to hot desk.
However, most were in favour of hot desking if it was introduced in conjunction with more flexible working practices: 84% said they would be in favour of hot desking if it gave them the option of working from home.
One of the main reasons people oppose hot desking, cited by 59% of respondents, is that it causes unnecessary disruption to the working routine. Almost three quarters (73%) of respondents said that they would find it stressful and inconvenient not knowing where they would be sitting when they arrived at work each day.
Office workers also have strong territorial objections to hot desking: seven out of 10 said that having their own desk at work gave them a sense of security, while two thirds said that having their belongings arranged around them gave them a feeling of ownership. One quarter said they like to have their files and other information sources around them permanently.
A majority of those questioned had concerns about the effect that hot desking would have on productivity: 57% felt that their efficiency would be reduced if they regularly had to move their personal belongings; while more than half (52%) felt that their productivity was improved by sitting with the same colleagues, as it meant that they could hear and share information without communication formally.
Commenting on the findings, Lynn Headington, marketing director of Project Office Furniture, said: “Judging from the results of our survey, it’s very important for people to feel comfortable and secure at work - more specifically to have their own desk if working full time at the office - in order for them to be productive and efficient.”
She added: “That said, hot desking can be an effective way for firms to manage their overheads, and is clearly popular if staff can also have the chance to work from home. If working two days out of five in the office hot desking is a cost effective way for FM to maximise return on investment. Our message to employers is to consider whether a hot desking policy is really going to increase efficiency or will it leave staff feeling alienated and out of the loop. If there is a risk of this, then firms need to work hard with their internal communications procedures to prevent this from happening when they go
down the hot desking route.”
01440 705411 http://www.oepgroup.com/
BusinessSolve’s Hot Desk Manager web-based booking tool can resolve many of the objections people have to hot desking policies. The ability to reserve desks online or via on-site touch screen displays gives users a high degree of control over their working environment. Interactive floorplans let users select the desk they want and, because the software can show who desks have been booked by, you can choose one next to a close colleague - or far away from someone you want to avoid.
http://www.businesssolve.co.uk/
