Out go the family photos and your favourite mug. And don’t even think about a plant unless you’re prepared to take it home every day. Hot desking, a major annoyance to workers, is slowly taking over the workplace.
The reason for this is simple: a large proportion of the total desk space in an office sits unused each day due to absences, flexible working and back to back meetings. So, the logic goes, if you can have fewer desks for the same amount of staff you’ll save money. After all, office space is notoriously expensive, especially in major cities – the average annual property cost for a British office worker is £4,800. Under-used office space costs businesses £10 billion a year in England and Wales alone.
Companies trying to save money will drive the demand for hot desking by 45 per cent this year, according to figures from Deloitte.
One of the businesses who has turned to this approach is recruitment firm Redholt. Managing partner Chris Redmond decided to move his workforce to a hot desking space because the company’s office was never full. “High costs eroded our bottom line at a time when we were focusing on profitability,” he says. Redmond claims the move to flexible working has made staff happier and more productive.
Of course, no fixed desks might work for businesses where employees are able to sign in from home if they choose to, but that’s not the case for the majority – 80 per cent of the UK workforce still goes into the office Monday to Friday.
In companies where hot desking has been enforced, workstations feel scarce. Now workers have to spend time finding somewhere to sit before they tackle their to-do list. One survey found hot deskers waste 18 minutes a day on average looking for somewhere to work.
“Simply trying to find a desk first thing can be a task in itself – especially for those who arrive later after having dropped children at school or nursery,” says Christina McAnea, assistant general secretary at trade union Unison. “It means stress levels can be on the up long before the first email is sent.”
Unison surveyed social workers about hot desking in 2012 when the phenomenon was not so widespread: 90 per cent of people said shared workstations had had a negative effect on their morale, and their stress levels had increased. Just 15 per cent felt that flexibility and efficiency had improved.
Business psychologist Jess Baker says hot desking is one of the most common workplace stresses for her clients. She believes it creates a feeling of competition, with some people arriving earlier each day to try and grab a seat. Not knowing who you’ll be sitting next to on any given day can also mean it takes staff longer to feel like they’re part of the team. And if you want somewhere quiet for a confidential conversation, you might be out of luck.
“While hot desking suits some people, it can adversely affect the many staff who have to be onsite and need to know they’ve got everything they need where they need it,” she says.
Not knowing where the people you need to collaborate with are sitting can affect productivity too. Often a query can be solved much quicker by simply popping over to your coworker’s desk, rather than relying on email back-and-forths (or Slack). But that can’t happen if you can’t find them.
Research has even shown that hot desking can result in higher levels of distrust, fewer office friendships and a perceived lack of support from management.
Dr Libby Sander, assistant professor of organisational behaviour at Bond University in Australia believes hot desking can also negatively affect concentration. “In many workplaces now, poor acoustics and lack of visual privacy are a significant concern,” she says.
Sharing desks could also be bad news for our bodies, according to physiotherapist William Kenton. Musculoskeletal conditions like lower back pain are one of the biggest causes of work absences, accounting for around 7 million days lost annually in the UK. If people are forced to swap desks every day, there is no guarantee that ergonomic or standing desks will be available to those who need them, and this problem will only get worse. If someone is ill, there is a higher chance of contagion if they are sharing keyboards and work stations.
So will hot desking save companies a load of money despite the considerable negatives? The answer is probably not. The initial savings on office space could easily exacerbate employee absences: every year 28 million days are already lost to work-related ill health alone. Plus, those minutes trying to find a desk add up to an average of two weeks a year of wasted time per employee.
That’s not to say hot desking is a complete disaster though. Sander believes employers could be doing a lot more to make it work better for everyone, by looking into acoustic treatments for noisy open-plan offices and ensuring there’s a decent balance of collaborative and private work areas. “Acres of open-plan space with hundreds of desks is unlikely to benefit anyone,” she says.
Ensuring there’s a clear flexible working policy and providing lockers to store equipment could also alleviate some of the issues. As could talking to staff before implementing hot desking and allowing them to share their views.
But for many employees, the decision to work in this format has already been made. The only thing you can do if hot desking has been enforced is to make sure you walk away from your desk regularly, Baker advises.
“Commit with a colleague to leave your desk at lunchtime, even if you just walk around the block,” she suggests. “It’s also important to check in with your stress levels every morning and evening and acknowledge how you feel. If your office environment is really affecting you, talk to your manager and other colleagues about it and see what can be done to improve the situation.”
McAnea encourages workers who are concerned about the introduction of hot desking to make their employer aware of the potentially negative impacts on morale, motivation and productivity.
“Hot desking might look good on paper, but any savings made are likely to be more than outweighed by the negatives.”
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
