Hot desking

I’ve worked in several offices where more and more ‘hot desking’ is being implemented more and more. 1 desk for 2 or 1 desk for 3. Although many of us are meant to be out and about on visits the bureacracy means we spends hours on a computer writing down everything we do. Some places allow working at home so that takes some of the presure off. But where I am currently won’t allow us to work from home or give us smart working tools however they have just moved us into a smaller office with less desks (also smaller too). People are now trying to get into work before normal starting hours to get a desk. There were jokes about parent’s leaving their children at the school gates to ensure a desk.

People feel quite anxious about it all. Should they just get over it or should they resist this a bit more?

  • Unnecessarily anxiety provoking for the staff and makes staff not feel appreciated
  • A necessary evil in a work place to save money and work smarter

0 voters


For my last two roles I’ve had to hotdesk as I’ve been contracting. Whilst I get that contractors are non employees of that company so aren’t going to be treated as well as permanent staff, I’d rather have a fix desk. One of those roles was a race to get in each morning, with the loosers having to find a desk on a different floor.

I normally have to nick a desk when I’m on-site. That’s not the same as hotdesking, where you only get to choose between a few designated areas. That’s sitting at people’s desks when they’re on holiday, and writing:-

“I AM A MASSIVE FUCKING PLUM”

…on their cubicle wall with invisible UV marker pen.

I don’t mind it, myself.

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Plushers offices, more space, bigger and more desks = less money for staff wages, or staff in total. Unless its Facebook.

I dont know if this is hot desking or not but as I am in a 28 on 28 day off rotation myself and my back to back have to use the same desk/computer so that we get all the information availble, the worst thing is the filing of documents and E-mails he has one system and I have another trying to find common ground is proving to be difficult. We also have certain tasks that have to be completed by each months end and the bugger always manages to wriggle out of doing them so that I have to complete them.