“Contrary to the completely objective opinions of people whose aim is to sell workplace technology, the vast majority of evidence suggests that hot-desking is neither good for staff morale and creativity, nor is it good for productivity – with some surveys showing that more than 25% of companies suffer a dip in productivity as a result of implementing a hot-desking policy.
In addition to this, a survey carried out by Unison in 2012 showed that:
90% of respondents said it had a negative effect on morale;
90% said it increased their stress levels;
80% said they do not have the same access to peer support; and
only 15% felt that flexibility and efficiency had increased
Furthermore, research carried out by Dianne Hoskins of Gensler, a US office design firm, which took in over 90,000 people from 155 companies across 10 industries, found that ‘knowledge workers’ (skilled white-collar professions) need four things to thrive:
Focus (individual work involving concentration and attention to a particular task);
Collaboration (working with others to achieve a goal);
Learning (acquiring knowledge or skills through education or experience); and
Socialising (interactions to create trust, bonds and values, collective identity and productive relationships).
The results of her research went on to illustrate that the most significant factor in increasing productivity in the workplace isn’t the ability to collaborate, but the ability to focus (who would’ve thought that being able to concentrate could be so important).
The research also found that focus is the one thing that new styled hot-desking type environments makes hardest.
She said: ''Co-worker interruptions, auditory and visual distractions all combine to make focus work the modern office's most compromised work mode''.”
https://businessfirst.co.uk/news/hot-desking-is-revolutionising-modern-business-but-is-it-worth-it