Hi Katie
Around 10 years ago I looked at open plan offices in the context of psychosocial aspects as part of a psychology course and certainly at that time personalisation of workspace was important and for some people knowing where they were going to sit was stabilising, in fact I was so interested in this that I wrote an article about it, see https://www.shponline.co.uk/throwback-thursday-the-work-environment/ I may revisit this and write an updated version this year particularly with my new knowledge of how personality influences work engagement, job satisfaction etc.
Now, in practice I see a mix of problems with hot desking which can include the social aspects but it is mainly the lack of being able to personalise a work space for many people and not knowing where they are going to sit. However, I mostly see these problems in those where hot desking has been imposed on them and they have previously had a permanent desk they could call their own. For others where there is an expectation from the start that they are mobile workers and therefore will need to hot desk there are not so many problems. For others (I am one of these) hot desking and working very flexibly is quite liberating and mitigates the boredom of sitting in one place/environment and having to talk to someone they wouldn't choose to.
I think it is the way forward and with younger generations coming through who expect to work in different ways to previous generations I think it is likely to stay.
Regards
Karen
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Katie Eastwell
Sent: 15 January 2018 18:01
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] hot desking
Hi everyone,
A large client of mine are in the process of asking their workforce (call centre) to move from having their own desks to hot desking. In the past this has been commented on in jiscmail - more to do with the ergonomic side of things and I think we are comfortable with how to advise on this.
However its the other issues I wondered if someone could advise me on.... should we expect to see psychological issues with people not having such a sense of belonging or being able to sit with their colleagues and/or in teams and feeling isolated? The social aspect of work is important and sitting next to someone you can get to know and share those difficult/boring moments with is what keeps some people going...
Are we also likely to have complaints about the hygiene aspects - especially in the flu season and I guess wipes will need to be provided.
Has anyone seen an increase of illnesses/OH referrals associated with large workforces changing to hot desking or do you just see initial concerns but then everyone just gets on with it? I guess its the way forward for a lot of companies these days.
Any help would be much appreciated so that we can advise appropriately and know what to expect when it happens.
Thanks
Katie
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