Over the last few years, the flexible work model has become more essential for both businesses and employees. With hybrid working, remote working, hot desk space and coworking arrangements, there are flexible options to suit everyone.

Slack found that 72% of 9,000 workers prefer a hybrid work model. The same study revealed that 13% would like to work from home permanently if they had the choice. Additionally, Accenture found that 83% of workers prefer hybrid working.

These statistics show that flexible working and hybrid workplaces are here to stay. Hot desking solutions have played a major part in this. In fact, many offices now offer some form of hot desking.

There are several reasons for this, but a big driver has been cost-cutting and ensuring space is used effectively. A study by INC found that as much as 40% of an office's desk space goes unused on a daily basis.

Below, we’ll discuss hot desking solutions in detail. We'll uncover how they can be used to bridge the gap between face-to-face and remote work. We'll also highlight the benefits of this hybrid model of working.

What are hot desking spaces?

A hot desk in an office is a space where workers can use any desk, rather than having an assigned space. This is largely different from traditional office setups where employees sit at the same desk every day.

As a hybrid office model, it’s ideal for organisations seeking to offer both remote working and in-person options.

Why has hot desking become so popular?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people started looking for a better work-life balance. The remote working model has also made it clear that people can work from almost anywhere. This means a permanent office space isn’t essential anymore.

Because of this, employers have been able to take advantage of hot desking to create efficiencies and cut costs. Using the hot desk model allows employers to deploy a hybrid work setup, bridging the gap between working in person and remotely. Hot desking also enables businesses to remove permanent desks and let employees choose where they sit.

If companies can downsize or move to a serviced office or coworking space, they can significantly lower their operational costs.

According to Employment Hero, employees say that they want and expect flexible working. Unfortunately, allowing your staff to work from home a few days a week means you’ll have a lot of underused office space. That is unless you switch to a hot desk setup.

Why is hot desking a model of flexible working?

Opting for hot desk office space is a great way to implement flexible working. You could choose to change your current office setup to include hot desks or you move to a coworking space on a hot-desking basis.

Either way, your employees have more choice in how and where they work.

Flexible working means letting people control their work schedule, and hot desking enables businesses to give more freedom to employees by enabling them to work from where they are most productive.

Many specialist offices with a hot desk system are also open longer hours than a traditional office. That means employees can even choose their working hours.

How hot desking and the hybrid workplace model work together

Working in the office on a full-time basis isn’t the most productive for everyone, But working from home permanently might not be suitable for your business in the long term. This is where hybrid workplace solutions like hot desk space can help you strike the perfect balance and improve flexibility.

With hot desk working, remote employees can work where they are most productive. That means they can create a working pattern that delivers a better work-life balance. It ensures they have essential face-to-face contact with colleagues, while also giving them the flexibility to work alone.

What are the benefits of this flexible working model?

There are many benefits of hot desking and implementing a hybrid working model. Employers seeking to deploy flexible working and employees looking for more freedom in where they work can both benefit from flexible working.

Benefits of hot desking for employees

Hot desking is beneficial for employees seeking a better work-life balance and more flexibility in where they work. Some of the other benefits include:

• Flexibility: Employees can choose where they work, whether that’s a coworking desk, a private space, from home or elsewhere. This enables them to have more choices and improves morale.
  
  
• Socialisation: By sitting at a different desk every day, social interaction with colleagues can be improved. Traditional private offices often keep teams together. However, hot desking allows employees to sit with people outside of their team and foster new relationships.
  
  
• Collaboration: Hot desk office space in an open-plan work environment can improve collaboration across your entire workforce.

 

Benefits of hot desking for employers

At face value, it can seem like hot desking is only beneficial for employees seeking freedom. However, choosing a hot desk setup is beneficial for employers too. The benefits for businesses include:

• Cost savings: Implementing a hot desk model means you can reduce the amount of office space required. You can also usually scale up or down depending on the needs of the business.
  
  
• Talent: More people have hybrid remote working in mind when looking for a new job. 77% of workers consider flexible work arrangements a major consideration when evaluating future job opportunities.
  
  
• Productivity: Enabling your employees to work where they feel most comfortable will lead to greater job satisfaction. That can result in increased productivity levels. It will also boost morale and make for a happier workplace.

 

Benefits of hot desking for the environment

The impact on the environment is a huge consideration for companies looking at new office space or ways of working. The benefits of a hot desk setup for the environment include:

• Carbon footprint: Hot desking and a hybrid working model means that employees will come into the office on a rotational basis, with some people working from home and some in the office each day. This results in one of the greatest hybrid working benefits: less commuting and fewer vehicles emitting CO2 into the air.
  
  
• Sustainability: In the digital age, the need for paper in the office is becoming less essential. Hot desking amplifies this as people don’t have fixed desks or places to keep paper, meaning everything is stored digitally.

Who does hot desking work for?

With multiple configurations and options for hybrid working, hot desking can work for almost any business. The obvious choice for hot desking is freelancers who need a professional office space from time to time.

With the rise in flexible workspaces, larger businesses are reaping the benefits of hot desking too, particularly those in creative and technology industries.  Reconfigure the layout in your current office to enable hot desking. Or, completely move your workforce to a serviced office space with hot desks. Either way, you can make hot-desking work for you.

Hot desking also works particularly well for professionals who work in different locations. Many hot desking or coworking memberships enable members to book hot desks in any of their locations worldwide.

Make hot desking work for your business

While the concept is simple enough, there are several ways you can make a hot desk setup work even better for your business.

Employee training

Wherever your hot desk setup is, training your employees in your new way of working is essential. While hot desking fosters a more relaxed and casual atmosphere, that doesn’t mean office etiquette goes out the window.

Your employees should treat every desk as if it’s their own for the time they are using it, keeping it clean and tidy for the next person.

Advance bookings

Making advance bookings for larger groups of people minimises last-minute panics when looking for an available meeting room. Many hot desking spaces also allow advance bookings so you can easily find your desk and get to work right away.

Space configuration

By implementing a hot desk model, you’ll likely have more space available in the office.

You should reconfigure this space to ensure you have collaborative workspaces for group work and team building. This will help to create a positive company culture and give employees more space to work their way.

Booking systems

When opting for a hot desk model in a shared or serviced office space, making use of the booking system can improve the experience for both you and your employees. It can help you to stay organised, ensure everyone knows where they should be working from, and help you to see at a glance how much available desk space you have.

Make hot desking work for you

At Regus, our memberships give you access to hot desk spaces every month, enabling you to book your space and ensure you’ve always got your choice of desk. You can even use it on the Regus app for more convenience in the palm of your hand.

If you’re looking to move your remote teams to a coworking space to reap the benefits of hybrid working and use a hot desk setup, browse our offices or speak to our experts today.