by Nazir Adams of Sekari
Imagine sharing a space with other like-minded individuals who come from all walks of life, who are interested in different professions but are all starting out or even working alone on a freelance basis? If that sounds like an environment that would help you thrive creatively, then hot desking in a collaborative space could be for you.
This type of sharing economy has recently come into the limelight, from business centres in Dubai to collaborative working spaces in New York City – hot desking gives you the opportunity to move from one area to the next on a day-to-day basis to do business.
A hot desk is a temporary working space – simply show up, sign up and use one desk in a shared working space for the day. Alternatively, you can rent on a weekly or even monthly basis if you enjoy the office. The benefits of a hot desking is endless. No set up fees, no set up office admin like IT installation and no large monthly rental costs. Many individuals prefer these working spaces to that of a coffee shop owing to decreased noise levels and the fact that you do not have to sip on one cup of coffee over a few hours!
These collaborative working spaces with hot desking options are popping up all over the world. In Dubai, there are various workstations, business centres and hot desking options hosted by the world leader in office space rentals – Regus. In London, you can head to the Google Campus in Shoreditch and work in their basement with other like-minded individuals (usually in the tech industry). In Cape Town, South Africa you can head over to WorkShop17. A collaborative working space that contains one of the best views in the world courtesy of the famous Table Mountain. This space is situated right in the epicentre of the city at the famous tourist attraction – the V&A Waterfront.
Regardless, this way of working is not for everyone. It is not a secret that humans are creatures of habit and for some, having the stability of a permanent working space helps them to remain calm under stress and work efficiently. While it may encourage collaboration, some feel that it could hinder team work and colleague cohesion.
It is true that this “nomadic” work process which can let individuals work more flexibly. In many cases, working at a permanent desk is said to hold some negative connotations through over the top expectations. Because of this, not only are collaborative working office growing in numbers on a daily basis, but permanent offices are also now implementing a hot desk policy, letting their employees sit in different areas on a day-to-day basis. Advocates say that this is said to enhance creativity and improve inter-company communication, but if you are someone who enjoys a permanent space, you might have to get up a little earlier than usual to get the same spot from Monday to Friday.
What do you think of hot desking? Is it the future of office setup or will is it a fad that will eventually fade away?
Nazir Adams has been around the world seven times in his mind only to recently come back down to earth as a marketing guru. His marketing passion is fuelled by the online world and its ever-evolving capacity. Nazir is currently employed at Sekari, Search Optimized Content Marketing Agency where he specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) and online business development.
