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What is hot desking?
In today's rapidly evolving work environment, hot desking has emerged as a popular office trend that reflects the shift towards more flexible and dynamic workspaces. At its core, hot desking is a system where employees do not have assigned desks. Instead, they choose from available workstations on a first-come, first-served basis each day.
But is hot desking still not?
The hot desking approach is designed to maximize office space efficiency, reduce real estate costs, and foster a more collaborative and adaptable work culture. By eliminating the traditional concept of personal desks, hot desking encourages employees to interact with different colleagues, promoting a sense of community and enhancing communication across various departments. As businesses continue to adapt to new ways of working, hot desking offers a practical solution that aligns with the needs of a modern, agile workforce.
In the fast-changing landscape of today's workplaces, hot desking has become a favored office trend, symbolizing the move towards more flexible and dynamic environments. Essentially, hot desking is a system where employees do not have fixed desks but instead select from available workstations on a first-come, first-served basis each day. This method aims to optimize office space usage, lower real estate expenses, and cultivate a more collaborative and adaptable work culture. By removing the traditional notion of personal desks, hot desking encourages employees to engage with various colleagues, fostering a sense of community and improving communication across different departments. As companies continue to embrace new working methods, hot desking provides a practical solution that meets the demands of a modern, agile workforce.
Why is hot desking relevant?
With many employees now working from home or remote, the need for dedicated desk spaces has diminished, leading to an increase in the popularity of hot desking. Especially past COVID-19 we could see new efforts by employers providing pandemic compliant work environments where the principle of flexible working gained a lot of attention.
As companies begin to consider returning to the office (RTO), adapt their work styles, or a hybrid model of remote and in-person work, hot desking has become an attractive solution for several reasons.
Firstly, it allows for greater flexibility and agility in the workplace. By having a shared pool of desks, employees can choose where to work based on their needs and preferences, whether they need a quiet space to focus or a collaborative area to brainstorm with colleagues. This has also led to a change of mind for the workforce with top talents having remote or hybrid work as a requirement for a potential job. According to Zappia 66% of Americans work at least part-time remotely which is why hot desking and desk booking gains a lot of attention.
Hot desking ≠ smart office
The Smart Office needs to be versatile – That’s the key to making Hybrid Work, Work
If there’s one word that defines the success of hybrid work, it’s versatility. And hot desking is of course one out of many approached and tools to make the smart office of today more versatile. It is more of a means to an end rather than an end in itself.
The smart office of today isn’t just a place to sit at a desk. It’s a dynamic environment designed to support everything from deep focus to spontaneous collaboration. It should be able to embrace and foster:
🧠 Deep concentration and contemplation
🤝 Teamwork and social interaction
🎤 Presentations and customer meetings
📚 Learning and development
🔇 Privacy and positive distractions
In short, it’s a space people want to come to. Not because they have to, but because it’s designed to support how they work best.
And it must account for the fact that people are different.
Some employees thrive in social, buzzing environments. Others prefer quiet zones for uninterrupted work. Some are digital natives who glide through tech tools with ease, while others might need a helping hand just to start a Teams call.
That’s why the modern workplace must be intentionally versatile, not just in physical design, but in the framework, processes, and systems we provide.
I believe that empowering people starts with giving them choice, and making that choice easy.
✅ Choosing the right room
✅ Booking the right space for the right purpose
✅ Getting the right resources at the right time
This only works when technology acts as an enabler, not an obstacle. Tools should be intuitive, removing friction instead of creating it. And that's also true for making hot desking work.
That’s where nudging and behavioral design come in. We can guide users toward the best decisions by designing systems that support and empower them, helping every employee be successful in whatever task they’re setting out to do.
Because when your workplace works with your people, not against them, that’s when hybrid work truly thrives.
What are the benefits and challenges of hot desking?
Well, there can be plenty. And I honestly believe it's not a one size fits all. Hot desking comes in many shapes and sizes, and must be treated and implemented accordingly to how each organization envisions it, and what they are solving for.
The following section will provide you with the most substantial outcome from all the information below.
Some benefits...
Some challenges...
How does hot desking work?
Hot desking can be managed in several ways. Some companies use a first-come, first-served approach, also known as the ad-hoc approach where employees can choose any available workstation upon arrival. This can happen through a QR code or a small display attached to the desired desk that lets you book it instantly.
Most companies prefer a reservation system or desk booking software, where your employees can book a workstation in advance, online or through a dedicated mobile app. This approach is influenced by hotel bookings where you book accommodation for the day which is why it is commonly known as desk hoteling or office hoteling.
Potential drawbacks for hot desking: When hot desking isn't hot
When considering the implementation of hot desking in your organization, it's important to be aware of potential drawbacks. Some major drawbacks of hot desking may include:
- More planning for employees
Hot desking requires employees to plan ahead and book their workspace in advance, which can add an extra layer of complexity to their daily routine. With desk scheduling software this might get handier but it requires better management of the individuals workday.
- Discomfort with different workspaces
Some employees may not be comfortable with the idea of having different desks or workspaces each time they come to the office. Also the idea of collaborating more with other teams might be stressing for them as some employees might rather stick to the same environment and people day by day. This can lead to discomfort and reduce their productivity.
- Decreased collaboration
Hot desking can potentially kill collaboration if adaptability is not given within your team. If employees are constantly changing their workspaces, it can be difficult for them to build relationships with their colleagues and work together effectively. Especially in teams where a frequent exchange is necessary this might lead to communication challenges.
- Lack of proper hardware
If the right hardware is not provided, employees may spend their workdays searching for the right tools or may not be able to work at all. Designers for instance might need special screens for editing and if they can't find those at work it could lead to frustration and decreased productivity.
How to get started
If you're planning to incorporate hot desking into your hybrid work setup, there are a few things to keep in mind. Taking a broader approach to the topic can be beneficial because it provides you with the opportunity to implement it and have success with it.
- Essential office equipment for hybrid work
To ensure that your workplace is ready for hybrid work, there are a few things you should consider. Firstly, it's essential to make sure your employees have access to the necessary technical tools and software solutions to work from anywhere. This could include cloud-based services, collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365, and other productivity tools specific to each department.
For your workplace, you might need a reliable internet connection, comfortable office chairs or standing desks, and docking stations or smart hubs with ports to connect a laptop to a workstation. Furthermore, storage lockers can be useful for employees who need to store their belongings while working in the office.
- Making the transition to hot desk a success
Once you've set up the necessary infrastructure, it's crucial to run pilots to see how everything works in practice. It's important to gather feedback from your employees during this process and make changes as necessary to ensure that everyone has the resources they need to be productive. It's especially essential to listen to the younger generations like Gen Z and Millennials who may have more vocal needs and preferences. By including them in the process, you can create a sense of ownership and engagement that will make the transition to hybrid work smoother and more successful.
- Implement desk hoteling
One way to optimize a similar approach to hot desking is to implement desk hoteling. It allows employees to reserve a desk in advance, ensuring that they have a workspace when they arrive at the office. This eliminates the issue of overcrowding and wasted time looking for an available workspace.
- Dedicated neighborhoods
Another way to optimize hot desking is to create dedicated neighborhoods for teams, such as marketing, sales, or development teams.
You're not hot desking by just saying you're hot desking. It's a cultural transformation.
Hot Desking is more than a seating Strategy: It’s a cultural shift
Implementing hot desking isn’t just about freeing up desks. It’s about reimagining how people work, connect, and collaborate.
At its core, hot desking signals a shift from ownership to flexibility, from “my desk” to “our workspace.” It challenges long-held habits and introduces a culture where mobility, trust, and adaptability take center stage.
The transformation goes deeper than furniture:
- Communication becomes critical – when people aren’t always in the same spot, intentional interaction matters more.
- Tech becomes your infrastructure – employees rely on digital tools to stay connected, book space, and stay productive.
- Trust becomes the foundation – empowering people to choose where and how they work creates autonomy, but also demands accountability.
- Community is redefined – the office evolves into a hub for collaboration, not just a place to sit.
Done right, hot desking isn’t a loss of stability: it’s a gain in agility.
But it takes more than policy. It takes culture change, empathy, and the right systems to make it work.
Because in the flexible workplace, culture is the new floorplan.
A modern approach for efficient workplaces
Hot desking is a modern office arrangement that eliminates the need for fixed, personalized workstations. This approach provides several benefits, such as saving real estate costs, promoting collaboration, and fostering flexibility and mobility among employees.
Due to the pandemic and transformations in work models, there has been a shift towards remote work and hybrid work models. As a result, hot desking has become even more relevant since most employees are not in the office at the same time. However, there are some challenges to consider before implementing, such as discomfort with frequent changes in workspaces, employee collaboration, and motivation issues.
To avoid these challenges, companies can provide the necessary hardware at the desks and use specific neighborhoods for departments or teams. It's also important to involve employees in the process, run pilots, and gather feedback to make sure you get the best out of it for your organization.
Despite these challenges, hot desking is an attractive solution for companies looking to optimize their use of office space and attract top talent with a flexible and modern workplace.
Take aways on making the workplace work - including making hot desking work
From talking to workplace leaders globally in the last years I've learned:
- Hybrid work is just work. But to make it work, be smart and prioritize. It’s not a one size fits all. And you can’t have it all. Which includes hot desking.
- Smart workplaces implement tech for the right reasons and with a clear purpose. Tech is an enabler for something else, not an end goal.
- The best leaders always have the objective, desired outcome, and end in mind; always ends over means. Never just tech or features, for the sake of tech and features.
- The world is moving fast, and native integrations are key in today’s IT-landscape and tech-stack, otherwise you get dropped. IT teams of today wants native integrations.
- Want to create the best workplace? Design for versatility designing your workplace. No ones like the generic office.
- Design for the right (desired/intended) behavior (don’t expect people to just have it). Never, EVER, implement tech without a clear communications plan and plan for onboarding and adoption. Culture also eats bad tech for breakfast.
- Include nudging to make people behave in the workplace, as you envision. Nudging strategies often beats fancy tech.
- Be ambitious, but always be brilliant at the basics. Digital Dexterity and Consumption Gaps are real, and people are getting tired of more and more tech, and more and more change management.
- Making hot desking (or smart offices work) it's a team sport – not a one-man-band. Involve both IT, FM, Workspace Services, Communications and HR.
Want to talk or discuss how hot desking is one apporach in creating a more versatile or dynamic workplace, let's connect!
