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Hi All,
Just wondering my company is moving shortly and some one in the management side has come up with the great idea of no-one having a set 'work station' and each desk would be occupied by who ever wants it.
This is due to all the big Tech companies like Apple & Google doing that so it must be a good idea. I mean I like having a home base, also the amount of stuff I have in my draws means I am loathed to give up my desk. Does this mean and I quote 'I have a toe in the spectrum' (I take that to mean ADHD) or is it normal? (I am also under the impression that at least Google had given it up)...
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I'm with you - I like my "own" space and the clutter that goes with it. Mind you, I also probably have a toe in the spectrum ...
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
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Microsoft too. I guess it works for some people, but not for programmers, which Microsoft has also noticed. Their programmers have their own desks.
I fail to see why ANYBODY would want and appreciate such a system. It has way more drawbacks than advantages in my opinion. I certainly couldn't work like that... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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Well the thing is with me as I bits of Hardware, embedded stuff, useful bits of wire, coffee all need a draw...
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Johnny J. wrote: I fail to see why ANYBODY would want and appreciate such a system.
Because you are capable of rational thought.
One place I worked in, one of the senior managers would change the seating plan the office every three months. This is all she did, she contributed nothing else to the business so I am guessing that the time in between was spent planning for the next seating change 
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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aka Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic
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If you come early enough, you could end up being able to keep the same desk 
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I'm not a fan. I've been to companies where they hot desk, and the major complaints I heard were that you needed a "drag about" filing cabinet to hold paper and other hardware related to your project; and that not all keyboard and mice are really "the same". Some "feel" different which is annoying, and then there is the "what did the last guy do to this keyboard?" feeling.
Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: not all keyboard and mice are really "the same"
Don't forget the height and angle of the desk and chair! 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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Yes, that's a very important point. Speaking as someone who has suffered from chair related issues in the past, I'm somewhat dreading the introduction of hot-desking at our place.
Hopefully, it will be a case of people just finding a spot and sticking to it but there are bound to be a few people who want to do the grand tour.
I'm also worried about how it will work out with noisy types. I can see it now, walking in of a morning, successfully finding my favoured desk and chair, getting half way through a tricky query only to find Foghorn Leghorn taking his perch next to me. Shuffle off to find a quiet (if back-wrecking) corner somewhere else and "Oh look! It's happened again!"
Like all corporate fads, no good will come from it.
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain
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Management will give us lockers like we had in high school.
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It depends.
If you work away from the office most of the time (at a client or from home), then having unassigned desks would be ok, it would mean the company would need less desks because not all of them are in the office at the same time.
If most of the people work at the office everyday, then that would be a bummer.
I've seen that more in consulting/accounting/financing companies where most of the employees work from home/client
I'd rather be phishing!
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Like open plan offices hot desk is a dismal failure for developers, we need our own space, our privacy so we can concentrate and quiet so we can listen to our own music rather than the chatter of an open plan office.
It IS a good way for a company to save money and it does work for people who are not in the office the majority of their time.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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Hmmm, the overall feeling is no, not a good idea. I have said this, my boss has said this, however management are getting to Dilbert level over this 
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Amen to that!
Last place I worked stuffed 90 engineers in to one room - less than 3 feet between each person. There is no way in hell I'd do hot desking.
And I'll never do open floor plan again.
I miss punch cards.
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It's great for your immune system, though. You can be exposed to all sorts of different things, which will only strengthen it.
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Hmmm, there one service desk guy bathes once a year (weather he needs it or not) I'm sure.
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It is a stupid idea and after a couple of weeks of disruption it settles into a stable equilibrium anyway.
(It just means they can save time/money on cleaners)
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It IS a stupid idea, but don't rely on it 'settling down' - ours hasn't.
I'm not working in a Dev environment (it's a pensions admin. office....) but I can assure you that so-called hot-desking is about as popular as a fart in a space suit.
Of course, it was imposed from on high by the lords of creation who, in their infinite wisdom, decided that what was good for offices in which staff periodically spent time out in the community was also good for people who never left their desks. Go figure.
So now, if you need to discuss work with someone you first have to scan/navigate the entire office looking for them... brilliant and so efficient!
We now have the ridiculous situation where people are moved from 'their' desk to make space for another worker who has just come in - so, of course, then a manager has to find somewhere to 'park' the moved member of staff...Monty Python meets 'The Office'.
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It's a ridiculous idea for a number of reasons not least of which is that you will have your seat adjusted for your own needs.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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I don't get it. At all.
I am currently sitting in another office where I do not have a designated seat and it is horrible. Every day it is a task to find an empty desk. My bag looks like I am going trekking because of water bottle and tea mug. Instead of this, I would prefer going to my regular office desk where I can leave water bottle, tea mug, laptop charger, phone charger and a pair of earphones.
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I have a tower, 3 screens and a small laptop, screen risers and various other items as well as a filing draw full of stuff. Not sure how I'd carry all that home and back every day and what happens if I'm late and there are no desks available?
Hot desking is fine for workers that are not glued to a screen all day otherwise it's a stupid idea.
Keep your friends close. Keep Kill your enemies closer.
The End
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It's possible, here, where I work since everyone works via a VM. Except, Senior management and much of IT have their own box. So it plays out like this:
I get moved, now and then, with cartloads of my essential belongings. Several desktop system, and they need to set me up with two or three network connections (default is one). And then assign me a new static IP. Most of IT is spared this really annoying event. (Just when I get really comforable . . .)
Regular employees have fixed locations, which are reassigned almost like musical chairs. For the most part, however, they remain in their assigned seats or, for now-and-then-er's, in the same area so that they may confer.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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I guess, it depends on the job. For a pure data clerk, I don't see the problem and viewing the world (the office) from a different perspective every day may be an interesting experience. For a pure software developer, that makes sense as well. The drawer isn't really needed for anything but a couple of pens and some paper, that's easily portable. But for a developer like me, who has roughly 2 kilogramms of hardware on his desk, wired to the computer via several USB connections, moving places is a huge deal.
Just like every principle, it may be beneficial, it may be the most horrible idea ever. It depends on the circumstances.
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