The practice of not assigning permanent desks to employees, allowing anyone to use any available desk on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hot desking removes the concept of assigned seating entirely. Employees arrive at the office and choose from whatever desks are free that day. The approach originated in the 1990s as organisations looked for ways to reduce real-estate costs, and it has surged in popularity alongside hybrid work models where not every employee is in the office every day.
The main advantage is space efficiency. If only 60% of your workforce is on-site on a given day, you can maintain fewer desks and repurpose the rest of the floor for collaboration areas, quiet zones, or meeting rooms. The downside is unpredictability -- employees may arrive to find no desks available near their team, which is why many organisations pair hot desking with a desk booking tool.
To make hot desking work well, companies typically establish clear guidelines around clean-desk policies, provide lockers for personal items, and use booking software so people can reserve a spot before commuting in.
A desk booking system where employees reserve a specific desk in advance, rather than choosing one on arrival like hot desking.
A workplace strategy where employees choose from a variety of work settings based on the task at hand, rather than sitting at one assigned desk all day.
A workspace layout strategy that assigns teams or departments to designated zones within a flexible office, combining team proximity with hot desking.
A workplace rule requiring employees to clear all personal items from their desk at the end of each day, enabling desk sharing and maintaining security.