Hot desking has become part of evolving workplace trends over the past few years, but according to a leaked return-to-work guide from the government, companies are being encouraged to avoid these work arrangements.
Collaborative workspaces have been on the uprise in recent years, but in the blink of an eye, workers have become more separated than ever. With this, companies need to focus on how to keep their staffers safe when they do return to the workplace.
In the meantime, remote working has become one of the most adopted workplace arrangements in the past few months. Prior to the pandemic, remote working and hot desking fell into the same category of the flexible office trend, but now they seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum.
“In the short-term, businesses must focus on the planning and structure of working – understanding who needs to be where, when and for what tasks,” said Chris Richards, regional president UK and Ireland at software company Unit4.
Richards added that the serviced office sector will be an attractive workspace option for many companies looking to manage the number of employees coming in and out of the space, but the idea of working in an open office plan may be unappealing to workers.
Overall, offices will have to make major changes in their design in a way that supports physical distancing and ensures that common areas are regularly sanitized, and this may be hard to accomplish with the hot desk model.
