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

Ev0 said:
Hmm are those areas branded as 'Touchdown' areas, possible we work for the same company ;)
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Yes they are, we have :

Hot desks : for people who need a desk all day in relative quiet.
Touchdown desks : for people who only need desk space for a short time or to make a call.
Collaboration zones : for small group meetings where no network is required. These are generally sofas or small tables.
Meeting rooms : closed areas with network, tele & video conference access.
 
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Most companies have totally failed to see the opportunities that a mobile workforce presents, why on earth would they have progressed as far as giving that piece of desk space in the corner a name?
 
I just started a new job and hot desking is the norm. It's a scrummage trying to find a place to park that is vaguely near to people I should be working with. Also spent a fortune eating out at lunchtime, as would feel guilty eating at a shared desk
 
I paid about £12 for a cheap wireless keyboard and mouse from a competitor, best thing I ever did.

Also invest in anti-bacterial wipes. Hot desking + air con = everyone gets sick all the time :(

Not a fan of hot desking, would have preferred a nice quite desk somewhere where I could get on with things, instead you end up stuck with god knows who jabbering on constantly :(
 
Here's where I work...



I was sceptical when starting but it works very well here, probably because it's adopted by everyone in the company. Even our Chief Exec does it!

I get to sit next to new people every day, so learn about what they're working on and how it may relate to my work and vice versa.

I don't have a designated desk but I don't need one. I can carry everything around with me. I don't need a landline as we all have a mobile phone. All the documentation I thought I'd need can be accessed electronically. I can work from home, any of the numerous buildings on site or even from another location... whatever suits me and helps me work to my maximum.

I've seen hotdesking in previous places I've worked and it wasn't accepted by all. Managers wanted their own offices as a sign of prestige. You don't get that at all where I work now. You could have a graduate trainee sat on one side of you and the Chief Exec sat on the other side... it's brilliant!
 
Derek W said:
Sounds terrible.
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That's what I thought when it was mentioned during the interviews I had. I really didn't think I was going to like it before I started - but the job they offered was good enough that I thought I'd just put up with it.

I'd had bad experiences of hotdesking before, I always found it to be good for the employer (more people crammed in to smaller and smaller spaces equals lower costs, etc...) but not for the employee as it was very restrictive. But at Vodafone it's liberating.

It's weird but I talk more to the strangers sitting next to me in this job than I used to with the regular colleagues in my old job. That may be because it was frowned upon to take breaks for coffee with colleagues at my old employer, whereas that sort of thing is encouraged here.

I guess the company has to have the right culture to start with. My old place was very stuffy... the average age was 65, everyone wore grey suits, the building was a boring place to work, people rarely smiled, etc... This style of hotdesking just wouldn't work there.

Glad I don't have to share someone else's keyboard and mouse though. That would be pretty minging.
 
I'm reasonably sure that Vodafone wouldn't operate a system like that if it didn't have positive results in performance, staff retention etc. All things which can be measured. Don't let that get in the way of your hatred of something you haven't tried though.

Hot desking isn't "buy less desks than people, declare the office a hot-desk environment". That's called being tight.
 
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