Coping with hot desking.

[Amyvictoria]

I will be moving to a new office in the organisation I work for soon. At this office I will have to ‘hot desk’. I’m a bit apprehensive about this.

 

I’m used to having lots of stuff in and around my desk. Photographs, notebooks, letters, stationary, snacks and other bits and pieces I have ‘just in case’. It all feels very important to me and I’m wondering how I will manage without it around me. I’ll have a small locker but I think that only the bare essentials will fit in this and I’ll have to unpack it and pack it away each day.

 

Does anyone have any tips to help me cope? What are the ‘essentials’? What can I live without? Ideas for storage? Etc etc...

Thank you all.

[ECCOnoob]

What's the role?

You could need everthing or nothing around you.

 

What's the company policy?

You might not be allowed anything on your desk. You might not be allowed anything on your screen/noticeboard/dividers. You might have a strict clear desk policy at the end of each working day.

 

What's the purpose of the hot desking?

Do you travel for you work or visit other locations or simply have no need to have a fixed station. If so then its likely you would be better keeping your "stuff" in a briefcase/bag.

 

Its gonna be a bit of a hard quesiton to answer without info.

[Amyvictoria]

It is a strict clear desk policy at the end of the day. There are no desk dividers to stick photo’s reminders and notes to. Hence the locker. I’ll need to keep in there all the things that I will need on a daily basis. But it will need to be packed away and unpacked each day. But I will be in the same office and using the same desk most days. Only very occasionally will I have to work at a different office.

 

In the office I’ll be using the desk to do basic office type things like type up reports, read and send emails, answer telephone messages, that kind of thing. I tend to have stapler, paper clips, pens, pencils that kinds of things in my desk draw, within easy reach but will not be able to in future. Probably 30% of my time is spent out of the office. I already keep with me bits of kit that I use frequently when out of the office and at the office other bits of equipment that I use more infrequently to take out with me as necessary.

 

I think that I am reluctant to end up with the boot of my car full of stuff that I use for work that I’d rather leave at work. I feel as if I’m being forced into providing storage for work related things that work ought to provide space for. It is probably more a psychological shift that I need help with.

[big_g]

We hot desk. For me it is literally a case of putting my laptop on the desk, connecting the monitors and mouse/keyboard, getting my notepad and pen out and then I'm ready.

 

Others who like to personalise their space keep a shoe box sized box in their locker. This has their essentials in including photos. Adds a couple of minutes to their set-up time.

[ECCOnoob]

^^^^^^^^I agree with this.

 

It might be a shock at first to have your bits and bobs no longer with you but hotdesking is a chore if you really insist of having much more than 5 or 6 essentials.

 

Shoe box in your locker is a good idea too.

[Waypher]

Ever felt like a wage slave?

[Parvo]

surely there will be the stapler, ruler, paper clips round the desk anyway.

pad and pen can go in pocket or bag...

I sort of hot desk because there's not enough computers for everyone to have their own where i work and there are different bits of kit attached to different bases......I'm sure you'll get your head round it...

Mind you I do sometimes find I've 'hot desked ' to several at the same time oops

[Amyvictoria]

Ever felt like a wage slave?

 

Just a bit!

 

---------- Post added 10-05-2013 at 13:54 ----------

 

surely there will be the stapler, ruler, paper clips round the desk anyway.

 

There did not seem to be when I went look around. Desks must be totally clear at the end of the day.

[sheffeeld]

Although I don't think people should or shouldn't, I've never had the need to put up photo's or 'dress up' my workspace.

 

I've worked in contact centres since leaving uni in 2002 and always wondered why people had loads of pictures of dogs or family members... The main one was people changing their desktop image. We've just rolled out Windows 7 and locked this down now and I've had loads of complaints from the advisors. Which is bizarre seeing as all day they never look at their desktop!

 

Again, each to their own, but never occured to me to bring personal things in.

 

As some other posters have mentioned, check the policy, and keep your bits in your ped/box...

[Ms Macbeth]

Although I don't think people should or shouldn't, I've never had the need to put up photo's or 'dress up' my workspace.

 

I've worked in contact centres since leaving uni in 2002 and always wondered why people had loads of pictures of dogs or family members... The main one was people changing their desktop image. We've just rolled out Windows 7 and locked this down now and I've had loads of complaints from the advisors. Which is bizarre seeing as all day they never look at their desktop!

 

Again, each to their own, but never occured to me to bring personal things in.

 

As some other posters have mentioned, check the policy, and keep your bits in your ped/box...

 

Me neither. I've had fixed desks, which I liked because I could store my pens and stapler etc, but I've never wanted to festoon them with personal items. The same goes for desktop images. I always felt it was a workspace, not a home from home. I've hotdesked in two organisations, and although I preferred my 'own' desk, it was ok once I got used to it. I'm a fairly tidy worker though, it must be hell for those who like towering intrays, and loads of stuff around them.