Hot desking at work... bring your own mouse and keyboard?

[Raumarik]

No hotdesk, computer encrypted and I'm the only one with password except ICT who you can never get hold of anyway lol

 

[Arsonist]

I'm in an open plan office, and while others can technically use my desk and pc (with their own login) they don't as it's a big video editing system with no boring programs. Hence I continue to use the new keyboard and mouse they gave me without fear of contamination.

 

[Whitewater]

Use your own mouse and keyboard. Its scary how much food you can get into a shared keyboard.

 

[The Funktopus]

Try 'hot bunking' like RN submariners, up until the Astute class have. From the stories I've heard, no wonder they're all bat-**** crazy!

 

[Fuggan]

I ****ing hate it when people sit at my desk.

Nice, clean, organised, scum-free mouse and keyboard. Monitors perfectly aligned. Take a week off and come back to absolute carnage! Keyboard full of food debris, scum all over the mouse and smeg on the monitors.

Not to mention the seat position!

 

[MrMoonX]

I get to work at 730 to secure my "hot desk" they all know not to sit there
Mind you where I work if you don't get in early you will be sitting in the corridor

 

[mrk]

I use a spare K750 and Performance MX I had, the keyboard is often the ice breaker when new people come over to see me about their connectivity requests etc but old timers simply say stuff like "you systems boys always get the gadgets" - Like hell! Getting funding to buy office chairs is a task in itself

I've seen what condition hotdesk peripherals are in though and it's not a pretty sight. That and the fact that most people don't even wash their hands after going to the toilet then waltz around hotdesking...

 

[SDK^]

Ive been hotdesking for a few years now and it works really well. There are pool keyboards but most people just use the keyboard & trackpads on their laptops. There are tubes of alcohol wipes for cleaning if required.

The 'touchdown' areas are a good idea for when you are just dropping by to check emails or make a call. Having staff move around to work definitely improves networking and comms.

 

[Strife212]

I've never heard of hotdesking in any working envornoment!

I've worked in a number of offices and call centres over the years, every one gets assigned a desk and it doesnt change.

I work in a massive company and no one has their own desk, other than Executive level. Not even department heads etc.

 

[Lopéz]

I hotdesk. In an average week I need a desk for 1 day at most, so I don't have a base location or desk, I just work at whatever site is convenient for me that day. I have about 5 or 6 sites all within half an hour from home, most of which are large and have multiple working areas, sometimes offices, so it's quite convenient for me. I had a 150sqm office to myself the other day, didn't get disturbed all day and got loads done.

I have a laptop and my own mouse anyway.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Sounds like a pain. What's the logic behind it?

The majority of people in our company don'k work at the office or at least every day so makes sense to not have a huge office that is always empty. The only hardware people share are monitors. Peripherals are all paid for by the company. People shouldn't share keyboard and mice.

 

[Zenduri]

I hot desk due to desk shortages in my area so I occupy peoples desks who are off or on their day off. I do hook up my own mouse because the work HP ones are too shallow so i have a larger mouse for my own hands.
I have considered a keyboard too as the ones at peoples desks are usually grubby and covered in hand cream or food.

 

[D.P.]

I've never heard of hotdesking in any working envornoment!

I've worked in a number of offices and call centres over the years, every one gets assigned a desk and it doesnt change.

The inky time it really makes any sense is if a company has a very generous flexi time system or multiple work schedules. Then they can run a far smaller physical office with most employees working remotely and only coming in when needed.

the thing is it is even more beneficial just to let people work from home rather than commit into a half empty office.

 

[slinxy]

I used to hot desk for many years, you get used to one desk and the other (clean) person you hot desk with. Of course the company needed to ban certain practices like eating/drinking at the desk, leaving paper work everywhere and have cleaning stuff; if and when needed with enough bins around the place.

TBH it was one of the cleanest environments I've ever worked in! I've worked in some offices where there's shed loads of paperwork, kb/mouse caked in dirt, personal belonging filling up the desk. The worst habbit is users thinking that the computer is actually theirs and not the companies/IT , that they can't work using another computer and trying to store everything locally.

 

[Trifid]

I have a hotdesk at a remote site and the mouse is manky. On my own desk I bought in my old MX518.

 

[FishFluff]

We hot desk where I work and I quite like it. I keep a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse in my locker and its fine.

 

[Ev0]

Sounds like a pain. What's the logic behind it?

Well taking me as an example, I have no fixed office, if I need to go to one I just turn up and grab a desk.

But there's nothing provided as such, it's literally a desk with a desk phone (which I wouldn't even know how to use as never used the internal phone system) and a network cable if you don't want to use wireless.

I don't really need anything, laptop has a decent enough monitor for the time I spend sat in an office, do have a small wireless mouse I use now and again but usually just use the laptop as it is.

the thing is it is even more beneficial just to let people work from home rather than commit into a half empty office.

Definitely, I know my place prefer people to work at home where possible as it saves a desk Some of our bigger offices are ghosttowns now or have been downsized.

The 'touchdown' areas are a good idea for when you are just dropping by to check emails or make a call.

Hmm are those areas branded as 'Touchdown' areas, possible we work for the same company

 

[Craig321]

In about 3 weeks our office will be refurbished and on our return there is supposed to be proper hot desking and a clear desk policy. I'm not so keen on the idea but I'll go along with it providing I get a decent sized locker.

The main thing I despise about hot desking is that people sometimes use the desk I regularly sit at and get their grubby fingers all over my nice, clean mouse and keyboard. Does this bother anyone else?

I'm tempted to treat myself to a decent mouse, keyboard and mousepad for work but only if I can guarantee other people don't gunk them all up with bits of crisps and biscuit crumbs.

Has anyone else treated themselves to a nice mouse/keyboard for work which you lock away everyday?

I'd buy my own mouse and keyboard without a second thought if we had hot desking at work. Not having some dirty, grubby, greasy, cold filled hands all over my stuff, especially as people eat at their desks.

One of these sets with those tiny USB receivers would probably do quite nicely.

 

[Mrs Seabiscuit]

You guys its all very well all these stories but no piccies! So I just moved jobs and I thought you may like to see the keyboard that is with computer.

That big white blob is chewing gum apparently!
Note I am taking my own in as of next week!

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

A few of you seemed to have not heard of hot-desking. It's like job-sharing really, 2 or more people using the same workstation in turn.

I work in the NHS and some of the areas have decided this is a good idea. I can't think of much worse infection control wise tbh.

Same here, NHS. Our office is mainly part timers, 9 staff sharing 7 computers. I work a 30-hour week, nearly full time, so I was lucky enough to mainly stick to 1 desk.

What I would much rather see in the workplace though is bring your own device™. Our works machines are P4 2.8 HT, Windows XP, Internet Exploder 7. Basically pre-historic! Most of us at home have multi-core laptops or all-in-ones running Windows 7 or 8. Once they're all PAT-tested and virus checked and all that fluff, I think we should start bringing our own machines. At the end of the day, I am only as fast as my PC is, and my works PC is 2003-spec. I'm equally as frustrated as the person at the other end of the phone while I'm silently waiting for my PC to catch up with an internet search or database query. It grinds my gears.