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Nearly two full years into the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are still trying to determine how to balance the number of employees that work in the office with those working remotely.

In an uncertain office climate, employers have seen the rapid rise of hot desking: an office structure in which workers have no permanent desk, but rather take any desk that is available at the time. Proponents say the system provides increased workplace creativity and collaboration, along with maximum space efficiency.

Although the hot desking practice isn’t new, it gained considerable traction amid the hybrid working environment that the pandemic thrust upon employers of all types. And as more employers adopt it, they’re also looking to software for the best way to manage it.

Hot-desking software enables employers and employees to reserve a hot desk, cubicle, or office room when needed, instead of a free-for-all approach that could jeopardize workers’ safety in a time of social distancing.

According to Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index:

• Over 70% of employees want flexible, remote-work options to continue

• Over 65% of employees are craving more in-person time with their teams

• 66% of business decision-makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments.

Those figures illustrate that employees want the best of both worlds when it comes to their working environment, and hot desking software could help employers offer it.

Human resources firm SHRM recently detailed how numerous technology and manufacturing companies are using hot desking and related software to allow employees to reserve parking spots and lockers, as well as let employers view analytics on the distancing between staff and their movement — and even perform digital contact tracing. Other software could map optimal office traffic flow and floor plans.

The rise of hot desking comes as employees continue to prioritize their safety. A new Honeywell survey of 3,000 office workers who work in buildings with 500 or more employees found the following key results:

• 87% of respondents are concerned about working in an office building — up 19 percentage points from Honeywell’s survey a year earlier

• 62% of respondents said they would leave their job if their employer did not take the necessary measures to create a healthier indoor environment

• 57% of respondents chose “co-workers not following safety guidelines” as the biggest threat to their office workplace safety, while 43% chose “outdated ventilation systems”

“Many companies have been forced to again rethink their return to office strategies given rising infection rates,” said Manish Sharma, Honeywell Building Technologies’ chief technology and chief product officer. “These insights imply that employers need to continue to consider how they are creating healthier and safer workspaces, in particular related to improving indoor air quality and tracking compliance to guidelines such as social distancing and mask-wearing.”

As workplaces aim to better manage worker health amid the evolving pandemic, industrial hygiene and IH/OH software is expected to grow to $403 million in 2025.

Image Credit: Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com

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