Hot desking has grown in popularity among UK businesses as they seek to reengage their workforce and find new ways of increasing productivity. In today’s constantly changing environment, businesses need to remain competitive, whilst also nurturing the wellbeing of their employees. Offering flexible working can make a significant difference to attracting the best talent, but new research reveals that making it work for both businesses and employees is not easy.
In a UK wide research conducted by HotDeskPlus, a workplace management app, 46% respondents admitted that unstructured hot desking is bad for their productivity, with an estimated average decrease in productivity levels of 31%. With well managed hot desking delivering significant results, why aren’t enough businesses investing in solutions that can pave the way to such successes?
The research showed that businesses can lose almost two weeks’ worth of output a year from their workforce as a result of failing to implement a hot desking management system. It showed that the average time spent by hot deskers looking for a desk is 18 minutes, with nearly a quarter of office workers wasting more than 30 minutes a day. Based on 220 working days and a 35-hour working week, this amounts to a staggering 66 hours, or almost two weeks a year, simply figuring out where to sit. Implementing a structured hot desking system whereby employees can pre-book their desk would remove this wasted time altogether.
Other issues reported to cause concern for office workers in relation to hot desking, are time wasted setting up a computer (44%) and missing personal space (35%). Respondents also expressed concerns about the impact uncoordinated hot desking would have on the relationship with their co-workers, with 17% saying hot desking would cause disagreements. 22% said they would find it difficult to bond as a team if they were always moving desks and 19% went as far as to say they would feel alienated from their colleagues
The option to work flexibly, and from home, is highly sought after by office workers seeking to improve their work-life balance, with 52% revealing that working flexibly is the factor most likely to improve their work-life balance. However, in order for this to be successful and for businesses to avoid wasting millions on unnecessary real-estate costs, organisations need to implement a robust flexible working management system.
Christopher Burke, CEO and Founder of HotDeskPlus and Brickendon comments “While the opportunities offered by hotdesking are unparalleled, it’s now clear that businesses are not utilising its full potential. In fact, our research highlighted that if not deployed properly, hotdesking can have a detrimental effect on not just the wellbeing of employees but their productivity too, which is very concerning. Thanks to technological developments, tools are now available which help businesses tackle such issues and help them make a smoother transition that doesn’t just manage real estate costs but ensures employees are happier and more motivated”
Brickendon Digital recently launched HotDeskPlus, an affordable flexible working system with powerful, data-rich management information that helps businesses optimise workspace and reduce real estate costs by as much as 55%.
