Are Hot Desks used much?

[Duncan Edwards Jones]

It is a stupid idea and after a couple of weeks of disruption it settles into a stable equilibrium anyway. (It just means they can save time/money on cleaners)

[GuyThiebaut]

It's a ridiculous idea for a number of reasons not least of which is that you will have your seat adjusted for your own needs.

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

― Christopher Hitchens

[GuyThiebaut]

Johnny J. wrote:

I fail to see why ANYBODY would want and appreciate such a system.

Because you are capable of rational thought. One place I worked in, one of the senior managers would change the seating plan the office every three months. This is all she did, she contributed nothing else to the business so I am guessing that the time in between was spent planning for the next seating change :rolleyes:

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

― Christopher Hitchens

[dan sh]

I don't get it. At all. I am currently sitting in another office where I do not have a designated seat and it is horrible. Every day it is a task to find an empty desk. My bag looks like I am going trekking because of water bottle and tea mug. Instead of this, I would prefer going to my regular office desk where I can leave water bottle, tea mug, laptop charger, phone charger and a pair of earphones.

[R Giskard Reventlov]

I have a tower, 3 screens and a small laptop, screen risers and various other items as well as a filing draw full of stuff. Not sure how I'd carry all that home and back every day and what happens if I'm late and there are no desks available? Hot desking is fine for workers that are not glued to a screen all day otherwise it's a stupid idea.

Keep your friends close. Keep Kill your enemies closer. The End

[W Balboos GHB]

It's possible, here, where I work since everyone works via a VM. Except, Senior management and much of IT have their own box. So it plays out like this: I get moved, now and then, with cartloads of my essential belongings. Several desktop system, and they need to set me up with two or three network connections (default is one). And then assign me a new static IP. Most of IT is spared this really annoying event. (Just when I get really comforable . . .) Regular employees have fixed locations, which are reassigned almost like musical chairs. For the most part, however, they remain in their assigned seats or, for now-and-then-er's, in the same area so that they may confer.

Ravings en masse^

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

[Kirill Illenseer]

I guess, it depends on the job. For a pure data clerk, I don't see the problem and viewing the world (the office) from a different perspective every day may be an interesting experience. For a pure software developer, that makes sense as well. The drawer isn't really needed for anything but a couple of pens and some paper, that's easily portable. But for a developer like me, who has roughly 2 kilogramms of hardware on his desk, wired to the computer via several USB connections, moving places is a huge deal. Just like every principle, it may be beneficial, it may be the most horrible idea ever. It depends on the circumstances.

[cptScorcher]

Draws draws!!!??? We don't get those at our hot desks. We call it a 'agile' workplace. I guess thats qicker than saying 'we are too cheap to provide a permanent desk for everyone so its first in best dressed'.

Nomadic office worker

[glennPattonWork3]

'Draws' point where am I going to keep my company jacket & tie?

[Jacquers]

I suppose when I was studying the computer lab was a 'hot desk' - you sat at whichever PC and worked there. I wouldn't really want to do that at work though.

[Chuck OHalloran]

Toe in the spectrum, they are implying the autism spectrum and not adhd.

[Bruce Patin]

At my desk, I have 5 computers, a KVM switch, a tissue box, lotion, two file cabinets full of notes, disks, dress shoes, shirt, tie, backpacks, mug, water bottles, spare mice and keyboards, a rack of books and binders, and my aluminum foil hat. Most can be moved around from one hot desk to another with a half days work, but the aluminum foil hat might get crushed.

[obermd]

When the CEO joins this idiotic movement then I'll think about it. Until then keep your paws off my desk.

[agolddog]

Make sure you get in before the management drone who came up with this. Sit at their desk. Proclaim it to be your 'hot desk' for the day. Repeat until this idiocy goes away.

[Leo56]

It IS a stupid idea, but don't rely on it 'settling down' - ours hasn't. I'm not working in a Dev environment (it's a pensions admin. office....) but I can assure you that so-called hot-desking is about as popular as a fart in a space suit. Of course, it was imposed from on high by the lords of creation who, in their infinite wisdom, decided that what was good for offices in which staff periodically spent time out in the community was also good for people who never left their desks. Go figure. So now, if you need to discuss work with someone you first have to scan/navigate the entire office looking for them... brilliant and so efficient! We now have the ridiculous situation where people are moved from 'their' desk to make space for another worker who has just come in - so, of course, then a manager has to find somewhere to 'park' the moved member of staff...Monty Python meets 'The Office'.

[User 13800111]

aka Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic

[Dr Walt Fair PE]

Sounds like a ready made excuse:"I'll code that routine as soon as I find my desk"

CQ de W5ALT

Walt Fair, Jr., P. E. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software

[MSBassSinger]

The question might be not "how much", but "why"? There are people who make an income by dreaming up ways to change things without respect to whether the change is good or under what set of conditions the changes would be good. These ideas are quite literally "sold" in a way that tells the buyer that this is the newest/hippest/coolest/etc. thing and it would be good PR to do it. I remember the craze about adjustable desktops. That went over like a lead balloon with most developers (especially those over 30). The desire to be seen as contemporary with current trends is a powerful magnet that leads many to behavior they otherwise would know is useless. These fads come and go.

[Kirk 10389821]

It is a way to make people feel absolutely interchangeable. This is a problem Management has TOO MUCH OF in Software Development. When I was first starting out, we had 2.5 developers. We were looking at a huge copy/rewrite of our legacy system to go into a new market. We "estimated" it would take us 9 months to do this, if we dropped everything, which was not possible, but it gave us a cost basis. We would leave the 0.5 developer to maintain stuff. The 2 programmers were above average. And without distraction, we felt we could live with 9 months to do this. The owner looked at the room, and saw 5 people (a manager who had not programmed in years, a Computer Operations Manager who did not program beyond hobby level, and the 3 other programmers). He said well, if we hire 3 more programmers, you guys should be finished in 2 months. He just called us COGS in a wheel. Just get more of "us" and he will make us live with this. Never mind it took over a month to find and hire each of us, and I helped bring 2 of them in! LOL. So, I stood up and said basically "That's Amazing. So if you go out and hire 180 Programmers, we can have it done for you by tomorrow at noon!" And I walked out of the meeting and went back to work. My boss pulls me into his office about 45 minutes later to let me know that the meeting was not over when I left... I explained: "It was for me". I later read the Mythical Man Month and learned it has been a problem since knowledge workers became a thing. Management is clueless about the ability of any individual who is smarter than they are, or who have skills they do not! == Your future work environment is about normalizing all knowledge workers to be the same. A terrible mistake, because I know from experience that there are Programmers that can do 10-100 times the work of other programmers. We have seen it first hand. We have leveraged it. Good luck!

[JakeSays]

Amen to that! Last place I worked stuffed 90 engineers in to one room - less than 3 feet between each person. There is no way in hell I'd do hot desking. And I'll never do open floor plan again.

I miss punch cards.