Working from home, good/bad?

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I don’t think open-plan hot-desking is a bad setup as long as it’s low density

We have an open plan setup and it works pretty well - the only time we have outbreaks in the office is when people get together in meeting rooms, which individual offices doesn’t solve

I think the key is really just being very flexible on WFH - when there is a lot of illness going around, nobody comes in and the problem solves itself
 
checkraiseulite said:
sounds like hell on earth.

many companies in my industry are moving away from open plan back to individual offices.

impossible to concentrate and easier to get sick in an open plan environment.
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We've kitted everyone out with dual screens and noise cancelling headsets. The office also includes a few smaller meeting rooms with wall mounted monitors for small online meetings as well a few quiet rooms where you can have private calls/convos.
 
Left my previous job as wfh was taken away and i was fully autonomous, felt no need to commute an hour each way to do that. New job technically cant wfh yet im ok with that as the 2x i have it wasnt anywhere near as efficient. Still commuting the same time. Basically forcing staff to go into a central office needlessly will turn people away i think. Turnover at last place is > 40%

Open plan hot desking is BS. Half baked measure, either let people be home or give them their own desk imo. Doesnt work here, though may at other places. I dont see much benefit personally
 

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burge13 said:
Open plan hot desking is BS. Half baked measure, either let people be home or give them their own desk imo. Doesnt work here, though may at other places. I dont see much benefit personally
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ridiculous comment, hybrid working is the future and hotdesking is the only way to handle that efficiently
 
Caesar said:
ridiculous comment, hybrid working is the future and hotdesking is the only way to handle that efficiently
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Maybe we're inefficient with it but people come in, have nowhere to sit and get frustrated.

Rather than "hot desk" just work remotely. Buzz word bollocks that is less efficient than having a proper spot to sit imo
 
burge13 said:
Left my previous job as wfh was taken away and i was fully autonomous, felt no need to commute an hour each way to do that. New job technically cant wfh yet im ok with that as the 2x i have it wasnt anywhere near as efficient. Still commuting the same time. Basically forcing staff to go into a central office needlessly will turn people away i think. Turnover at last place is > 40%

Open plan hot desking is BS. Half baked measure, either let people be home or give them their own desk imo. Doesnt work here, though may at other places. I dont see much benefit personally
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We're not hot desking but the office is completely open plan and everyone has designated desks. Sure, it's not the most economical way to do things as we're paying for more real estate than we otherwise would, but staff then feel engaged and have a sense of place.
 
Caesar said:
ridiculous comment, hybrid working is the future and hotdesking is the only way to handle that efficiently
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Hotdesking is hot garbage. My previous role had hotdesking and I absolutely despised it. No reason why people can't work 2-3 days from the office at their own desk to satisfy their employer's wants, while also WFH on alternate days.
 
Caesar said:
lol, so your employer should pay for twice as much office space as they need so that you don’t have to share a desk?

good luck with that one
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You're thinking of it the wrong way. Employers demand I come into the office and can't even provide me with my own space to work?


My previous role had hot desking. The hot desking booking app didn't work most of the time, so people just sat wherever they wanted. Half the workstations didn't function because they were missing screens/keyboards/phones and those that did had absolutely filthy keyboards (which when I complained to my boss about I was told nothing would happen as there was a planned upgraded in 9 months time). You had to store your stuff in a tub like a child, couldn't decorate your work space and people up to the service level manager didn't use the headsets because having to spend time trying to sync them with the systems on WFO days. Morale sucked and they had high turnover as a result.

Contrast that with my new role where I've got my own desk which is clean, I've got my work stuff stored in my drawers, a plant, snacks, and post it notes stuck up as reminders. I actually enjoy coming into work as I'm treated as an adult rather than an expense to be saved and the morale here is excellent, no complaining about coming into the office.

As a company it's a case of take your pick. Is being in the office super important? Then give employees a suitable space to work. Or if you want to cut costs so badly then let people WFH full time. Hotdesking is the worst of both worlds.
 
ash_1050 said:
You're thinking of it the wrong way. Employers demand I come into the office and can't even provide me with my own space to work?


My previous role had hot desking. The hot desking booking app didn't work most of the time, so people just sat wherever they wanted. Half the workstations didn't function because they were missing screens/keyboards/phones and those that did had absolutely filthy keyboards (which when I complained to my boss about I was told nothing would happen as there was a planned upgraded in 9 months time). You had to store your stuff in a tub like a child, couldn't decorate your work space and people up to the service level manager didn't use the headsets because having to spend time trying to sync them with the systems on WFO days. Morale sucked and they had high turnover as a result.

Contrast that with my new role where I've got my own desk which is clean, I've got my work stuff stored in my drawers, a plant, snacks, and post it notes stuck up as reminders. I actually enjoy coming into work as I'm treated as an adult rather than an expense to be saved and the morale here is excellent, no complaining about coming into the office.

As a company it's a case of take your pick. Is being in the office super important? Then give employees a suitable space to work. Or if you want to cut costs so badly then let people WFH full time. Hotdesking is the worst of both worlds.
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The fact your old employer did hot-desking poorly is neither here nor there

Office space in Sydney CBD runs around $100K per desk, per annum - the idea that employers should foot that kind of cost because you like having a pot plant is risible

Talk about precious
 
Caesar said:
The fact your old employer did hot-desking poorly is neither here nor there

Office space in Sydney CBD runs around $100K per desk, per annum - the idea that employers should foot that kind of cost because you like having a pot plant is risible

Talk about precious
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WFH then. Hot desking sucks

More staff employed than available desks is just a recipe for annoyance as 2 people are saying.
 
Caesar said:
The fact your old employer did hot-desking poorly is neither here nor there

Office space in Sydney CBD runs around $100K per desk, per annum - the idea that employers should foot that kind of cost because you like having a pot plant is risible

Talk about precious
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Sweet, I'll save the company $100k a year then and WFH where I'm happier, healthier and more cost efficient. If your main concern is saving the company money, or alternately employee health and happiness, then it's a win/win solution. I'd be interested to quantify how much a company spends replacing and training people due to high turnover because they feel giving people a suitable working space is a want rather than a need. There's plenty to back up hotdesking being a terrible idea, including this article from 2019.

Your argument is essentially:
"But desks cost money and we need to save money"
"I'll save you $100k a year then and work from home"
"No, not like that"
 
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burge13 said:
WFH then. Hot desking sucks

More staff employed than available desks is just a recipe for annoyance as 2 people are saying.
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ash_1050 said:
Sweet, I'll save the company $100k a year then and WFH where I'm happier, healthier and more cost efficient. If your main concern is money over employee health and happiness then it's a win/win solution.
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Most corporate roles are best suited to hybrid work - it’s stupid to require people to be in the office every day, and inefficient to do everything remotely

Anyone who works a hybrid job and gets precious about not having their own desk has their priorities in the wrong place
 

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Caesar said:
Most corporate roles are best suited to hybrid work - it’s stupid to require people to be in the office every day, and inefficient to do everything remotely

Anyone who works a hybrid job and gets precious about not having their own desk has their priorities in the wrong place
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Agree it's stupid for people to work in the office every day, and there are some drawbacks to WFH full time.

Do you hot desk in your office or do you have your own desk?
 
ash_1050 said:
Do you hot desk in your office or do you have your own desk?
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Everyone hotdesks, including the CEO. We have zoned working based on the type of work you’re doing and the team you’re attached to.

it works pretty well, we’re in a new building so everything is linked to the security app on my phone and just works
 
Caesar said:
Everyone hotdesks, including the CEO. We have zoned working based on the type of work you’re doing and the team you’re attached to.

it works pretty well, we’re in a new building so everything is linked to the security app on my phone and just works
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Hot desking is the pits and during a pandemic with monkeypox now also around is extremely stupid.

But yes keep defending businesses costs given profits are at record levels and we know staff are replaceable.

******* company men
 
Gralin said:
Hot desking is the pits and during a pandemic with monkeypox now also around is extremely stupid.

But yes keep defending businesses costs given profits are at record levels and we know staff are replaceable.

******* company men
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Nobody is paying an extra $50K a year so you can keep a picture frame on your desk, stop being silly
 
Caesar said:
Nobody is paying an extra $50K a year so you can keep a picture frame on your desk, stop being silly
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I don't go into the office.
I don't want a desk, give me the $50k
 
Caesar said:
Nobody is paying an extra $50K a year so you can keep a picture frame on your desk, stop being silly
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Which is back to my point of your argument is essentially:
"But desks cost money and we need to save money"
"I'll save you $100k a year then and work from home"
"No, not like that"

All give and no take, you'll come into the office when we say, you'll sit at a hotdesk, and you'll be damn well pleased about it.
 
Caesar said:
yes, that is a pretty fundamental part of having a job
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My job doesn't need me to be in the office to do it, I'm not going into the office just because some dickhead in management thinks I should to tick some box.

Its pretty clear you have zero respect for workers rights though, you'll do well as a middle management s**t kicker, they love that sort of thing
 
Caesar said:
Got a feeling one of my team leads is going to quit soon. Just get that feeling that she’s checked out.

She’s a relatively new hire, and I think the work not being what she expect plus feeling isolated is too much. I’ve sunk a lot of time into supporting her so will be disappointed if she bails.
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making a lot more sense.
 
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