Latest news with #hotdesking
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
How often do you need to be in the office to claim a desk?
If you work in an office, you may be doing it already. Hot-desking is the norm in workplaces across the country, usually open-plan offices. But our office etiquette doesn't always reflect how normal hot-desking and open-plan offices have become, according to Natsha Hawker, the managing director of a human resources and recruitment service on Gadigal land in Sydney. Paula Brough is an organisational psychology professor at Griffith University in Brisbane/Meanjin and says hot-desking has been increasing across all sectors since the COVID-19 pandemic. Professor Brough says hot-desking evolved from the popularity of open-plan offices. She says it's "highly beneficial" for employers, allowing them to continue supporting some working from home, while saving money on office space and equipment. According to Ms Hawker, "many businesses are looking for ways to reduce; reduce expenditure and reduce the office footprint". Ms Hawker says from personal experience, hot-desking comes with "the benefit of learning by osmosis". She says she has previously learnt a lot from the different people she has sat next to and the way they work. Professor Brough says how well people handle hot-desking will depend on their personality traits. She says a busy office of rotating desks is more likely to work for someone who is chatty and extroverted, and collaborative discussions in this type of environment could also help generate ideas and stimulate creativity. "But you have to be the right person to fit that environment," she says. "People tend to be productive when they feel comfortable". In offices with a hot-desking policy, the organisation is ideally making the environment more comfortable in other ways. The Australian Services Union's National Secretary Emeline Gaske says hot-desking cuts costs at the expense of workers' morale and productivity. She says the union is seeing a "real tension between employers pushing hot-desking and workers' desire for flexibility and consistency". "It strips away the stability and routine that people need to do their jobs well." How do you make hot-desking work for you? Email everyday@ How do you make hot-desking work for you? Email everyday@ Ms Hawker recommends introducing yourself to the people sitting around you in the first 30 minutes of being at a new desk. "If you're popping out for a coffee, ask anyone if they want one," she suggests. Noise can be a common source of office tension, so Ms Hawker suggests "keeping personal calls and noise levels to a minimum". Employers should also have cleaning products and hand sanitiser ready to access for staff rotating between desks, she says. Ms Hawker says employers should ideally also provide personal lockers so desks are left uncluttered at the end of the day. Professor Brough and Ms Hawker both point out that regardless of workplace policies, people are "naturally territorial" and "creatures of habit". Professor Brough says if the desk someone normally sit at is taken, that may "cause a little bit of internal disruption to people". However, organisations usually have a clear set of rules around hot-desking, such as no desk-claiming and no leaving belongings behind. Ms Hawker says, "people gravitate towards the same desk every day; if that desk is already taken it can really put them off and sometimes generate friction". She says you would need to be in the office a minimum of four days to feel able to claim a desk, because most people who work partly from home are in the office for three days. "Some employers are adopting a policy of '[if] you're in the office four days a week, then you can claim a desk as a reward.'" She recommends speaking with someone directly and discreetly if you have an issue. If you are uncomfortable doing that or it's not possible, Ms Hawker suggests speaking with your manager — and possibly human resources.
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Plugable Unveils DockTag Hot-Desking Management And Asset Tracking Technology
Hot-desking can reduce costs for companies but needs careful management. Plugable's new DockTag ... More technology can help with desk booking, asset management and IT support and is embedded in Plugable's new UD-7400PD USB-C Docking Station. Flexible office seating allocation, often called hot-desking, is a cost-effective way of reducing office costs but it needs careful management if it's to work properly and keep all stakeholders engaged. Redmond-based computing accessory brand Plugable has developed new technology that can be embedded in its products to enable hot-desking management. DockTag is a new cloud-connected technology that simplifies the allocation of desk space and keeps track of assets as well as streamlining IT support. Plugable;s first product to support DockTag is the new Plugable UD-7400PD USB-C docking station and is DockTag compatible and is available immediately to Plugable's fleet customers across the world. 'Hardware alone doesn't solve the challenges of the hybrid office,' claims Bernie Thompson, Plugable's founder and CTO. 'DockTag turns every dock into an instruction manual, an asset tag awe well as a booking kiosk; all from a single screen.' Hot-desking can provide companies with significant cost savings by making more efficient use of available office space, especially now more employees are working some of the time from home. Because employees aren't in the office every day, fewer desk spaces are needed, but the available spaces require careful management to ensure everyone who wants a space can get one. The new DockTag feature from Plugable lets hot-deskers reserve a desk and it also works as an asset ... More manager for docking stations. Plugable says that businesses using hot-desking report up to 30% lower real estate expenses when desk occupancy averages 40% or less. However, without real-time visibility showing which of the spaces are free or occupied, both employees and IT support can face avoidable friction or even a breakdown of the allocation system. Plugable's DockTag addresses this by transforming the brand's docks into dynamic, self-service workstations. When connecting a monitor, a DockTag docking station projects an on-screen splash that shows desk-specific information like model, serial number and MAC address. DockTag also displays a QR code enabling employees to reserve the desk or request technical support instantly. The system can also switch dynamically to guide the user without needing help desk intervention. The technology requires no client-side installation or complex network configuration. DockTag enables companies to keep track of assets like docking stations from a central display. A recent Makula study published in March 2025 found that QR-based asset access can reduce manual searches and downtime by having all the key maintenance information just a scan away. DockTag can also reduce ticket volumes and can streamline employee onboarding in shared workspaces. The new UD-7400PD launching alongside DockTag is a USB-C five-display docking station that supports up to four 4K displays and one 8K display simultaneously. First unveiled at CES 2025, the UD-7400PD is now shipping in quantity to Plugable's fleet customers and IT professionals. The UD-74000DP docking station will be the first of Plugable's products to include DockTag. Built around the new DisplayLink DL-7400 chipset from Synaptics, the UD-7400PD is the first docking station that can support five simultaneous displays while providing up to 140W PD for powering high-performance laptops. The docking station is universally compatible with macOS and Windows. It's equipped with two HDMI ports and three DisplayLink-enabled USB-C ports. The UD-7400PD has a front-facing 10Gbps USB-C port with 30W charging, two front-facing 10Gbps USB-A ports (one with BC 1.2 charging), 2.5Gbps Ethernet port and a combo TRRS audio jack. There are also three rear-facing DisplayLink-enabled USB-C ports that can also support 10Gbps data transfer and 15W charging. Finally, a Kensington Lock slot stops the docking station from disappearing. Plugable's UD-7400PD docking station is available directly from Plugable and Amazon priced at $279.95 including a 20% launch discount. DockTag is offered as a subscription model costing $60 per desk per year. One plan includes access to all current features which include asset management, hot-desk booking and unlimited API usage. Future analytics enhancements are already planned.
