When you work in a traditional office building, it can sometimes feel like you’re living the same days over and over again. You’re stuck in a small, dreary cubicle all day only to go home, sleep, wake up, and end up in the same place again for another eight hours.
So, it’s no surprise that today’s young urban professionals prefer coworking spaces, specifically those that allow them the flexibility to work when they want, where they want. None of those bleak buildings that chain you to just one desk all day, every day.
At Circle Hub, we’ve noticed that one of our most popular workspaces at both of our locations is our hot spots. Hot desking is a fantastic way to work in a dynamic, ever-changing environment. But what’s so great about it?
You might have read our recent article on the benefits of hot desking. But there are even more reasons to love it than meets the eye! Today, we’ll be taking you through even more of the benefits of hot desking that people don’t talk about enough.
What’s Hot Desking, Again?
Before we get into some of the underrated benefits of hot desking, we want to make sure you know exactly what hot desking is.
In a nutshell, hot desking is a coworking concept where people work in a shared common area. That means workers aren’t mandated to stay at one personal desk or cubicle the entire day. Where you work then becomes more flexible. You can grab a seat one day, and pick a different one when you come in the following day.
Since hot desking rejects the idea of having one specific table meant for each person in an office, it’s more spacious, too. Hot desking workspaces are often designed with an open floor plan. There are no walls, barriers, or bulky desks between you and the people you’re meant to collaborate with for your tasks.
This concept may seem strange and unfamiliar to some, but it’s growing in popularity. This is something we expected, seeing as how coworking is getting a lot of attention in the post-pandemic world.
So, if you like the idea of having the freedom to choose where you work and don’t mind not working a personal desk at the office, you might find the perfect workspace in Circle Hub’s hot spots.
What We’ve Said About Hot Desking So Far
This isn’t the first time we’ve ever spoken about the benefits of hot desking. Studies show that coworking is a much-preferred work arrangement compared to working at home, and presumably, in a stuffy traditional office. This is because there are tons of benefits you can get out of it. This is why we never seem to run out of ways to hype up hot desking!
In case you missed our last article, here’s a recap of some of the top benefits of hot desking:
- It’s much more affordable for businesses with remote workers. Employers can cut down on overhead costs, such as rent, maintenance of an office, utilities, and more.
- You get more control over your work life. You’re able to choose where to work, depending on your mindset for the day. This helps boost professional productivity, seeing as how you’re given more freedom and flexibility to make choices for how your day will look.
- You’ll be around people, which is awesome for extroverts who thrive when they’re around others. It increases the chances of collaborating with teammates and allows you to network more.
- If you do hot desking at Circle Hub, you’ll have access to the rest of our workspaces, break rooms, and amenities.
As you can see, we’ve already tackled lots of reasons why hot desking is a great option for anyone who wants to get into coworking.
But the benefits don’t stop here. There are still loads more underrated benefits of hot desking that people don’t talk about as much! Here are seven of them that we’d like to share with you.
1. You Can Get a Change of Scenery Every Hour if You Want
This may seem like an obvious one, but some people don’t realize that it’s something they can do. When you’re hot desking, you don’t have to stay in the spot you select for the entirety of your time there. There’s no limit to how many times you can move around the common area throughout the day. You can move every few minutes, if you want!
It’s important to have an enjoyable workspace if you want to get stuff done. Part of that is liking the scenery and setup you’re working in. Some people focus better when they strap in and sit in one spot for hours. But others might feel that sitting in the same place even just for a day is bland and boring.
If you’re one of these people, hot desking is perfect for you and your productivity levels. It’s great for anyone who has to stretch their legs and move to new places to work because they get bored easily.
You can sit near a window and bask in the sunlight during golden hour. You can then move to a more secluded corner an hour or two later after sundown. Did your least favorite coworker come in to sit next to you? Simply move to a more comfortable spot in the area.
2. It Makes it Possible to Retain Your Employer’s Work-from-Anywhere Scheme
Two and a half years into the pandemic and working from home, employers are starting to roll out their back-to-office plans.
According to a survey, around 50% of company leaders around the world want to see in-person work back in full force by 2023. Interestingly, around 52% of employees don’t, saying they’d rather switch to a full-time remote job.
Now that people are being asked to report back to the office, those who love their work-from-anywhere setup (and are much more productive because of it) are bargaining with their employers to continue it.
If hot desking is an option for your team, it’s easy to build your case that you have a work-conducive area to do all your tasks and don’t need a stuffy, suffocating office to get things done. After all, coworking is the way forward in the coming years!
Convincing your boss that hot desking is a great idea for your team is also incredibly attractive to potential new hires. This is especially so for those who are younger, like Gen Z interns and Millennial managers. This is yet another reason why companies should think about running their business from a coworking space.
3. You’ll be Working in a Clean, Modern, Minimalist “Office” Space
Because the concept of hot desking rejects the idea that everyone should have their own table or cubicle, the workspace isn’t riddled with huge desks and dividers. This open floor plan design doesn’t just make the space look more spacious. It also gives the hot spots a cleaner, more minimalist feel.
There won’t be any clutter in a hot spot. As a result, there will be fewer distractions as you grab a seat in a tidy, comfy corner and work for the day. A modern-looking, clutter-free environment also helps you become more productive as the day goes.
The tidiness of the Circle Hub hot spots isn’t purely because of the design either. It’s simply part of hot desking culture. After you’re done working for the day, you clean your area properly, throw out any trash, and leave it how you first found it. It’s a communal space after all — people will use the seat after you.
4. You Can Hone New Skills by Being Around Different Kinds of People
One of the biggest, most popular benefits of hot desking is the fact that you can network with more people. This idea isn’t new — some people choose to do hot desking precisely to expand their network of professional contacts.
But one underrated way that a coworking community can benefit you is that it allows you to hone new skills and talents.
A study has shown that because you interact with people from different backgrounds and fields when you’re in a coworking space, you can kind of accelerate your own talent development.
The more you talk to new friends at the hot spot, the more you pick up on what they do and how they do it. Therefore, communal coworking spaces become a sort of “talent hub”. It’s a terrific place to grow your skill set.
For example, if you’re a freelance writer who meets a graphic designer working in the hot spot and you strike up a friendship, you can ask for tips on how to use Photoshop. If you’re an introvert who makes friends with a salesperson at the coworking space, you can observe how they charm their clients. You can then try their techniques out at your next big meeting.
5. Freelancers and Self-Employed Workers Can Randomly Find Job Opportunities
If you’re self-employed or working as a freelancer, a coworking community can help your business in one more way. Believe it or not, simply doing your daily tasks at a hot spot can one day land you your next big client.
Picture it now. You could be minding your business while hot desking and end up befriending someone in the same space. You chat a bit about the type of work you’re in, and they realize their company has a project you’d be a good fit for. Just like that, you can organically add a new client to your roster!
When hot desking, you can technically make money from work and land new gigs at the same time. This is one of the most important benefits of hot desking for freelancers. It’s especially so for those who sell their skills better in person rather than on the internet.
6. You Won’t Have to Stress About Maintaining Your Private Desk or Cubicle
Some people still get confused about the difference between a private office and a hot spot. One of the most significant differences between the two is that you can’t personalize or decorate your desk.
If you work in a traditional office where you sit in the same cubicle day in and day out, you would probably start decorating your table. You’ll hang up photos of loved ones on your desk, bring in some of your own cute work supplies, etc.
Sounds fun, sure. But that means you’ll also have to do upkeep and maintain the cleanliness of your area, lest you get in trouble with HR or the maintenance staff.
When you opt for hot desking, the pressure of personalizing and keeping your station neat flies out the window. Working in a different area each day is more exciting. It doesn’t make it feel like you need to “liven up” your space with a little décor.
Because hot desking is non-committal, it creates boundaries for you and your work. You simply walk to a spot you feel like working at one day, sit there, and then tidy up quickly and leave. No stress, no mess, no clutter.
7. You’ll Never Have to Deal with Spotty WiFi or the Lack of Power
Last but not least, hot desking at a coworking space like Circle Hub ensures that you will always have high-speed internet and power — some of our facilities’ most important amenities.
We know how important these are so you can work smoothly. So, we ensure that the WiFi is fast and never gets spotty. That way, you can send out urgent emails as quickly as possible, and your flow of video meetings won’t be disrupted or sound choppy.
Conclusion
Hot desking has lots of advantages and disadvantages. But the numerous benefits of hot desking will always outweigh minor issues, like noise or being around people when you don’t feel like it. It’s an awesome option for any remote worker who would rather share a clean, affordable, thriving space with other like-minded people.
We hope that this list of additional benefits of hot desking makes you a little more interested in Circle Hub’s much-loved common areas! Taking a few hours to work in our hot spots each day may be a breath of fresh air for you if you’re getting sick of life in a traditional office, so try it out when you can.
Interested in giving it a go? Contact us for a tour or to book a slot with us — we’d love to show you our hot spots!