Flexible working dispute - hot desking

steven
Posts: 8 Joined: 31-08-06
Submitted by steven on 12 January, 2008 - 14:44.

Right so the eagerly awaited second installment of my work's flexible working dispute odyssey.

This is bigger than the other one - http://libcom.org/forums/organise/flexible-working-dispute-time-punch-cards-10012008 - for me, cos my office doesn't have punch cards.

Up till now everyone has had their own desks, including people who work like 1 day a week.

Our managers are now merging us with another department, moving a bunch of new people into our office, and making everyone who's not an administrator - support and social workers mostly (anyone posting bollocks about social workers here, it will be deleted) - hotdesk, so they won't have their own desks anymore.

This is bad from the point of view that it will
- increase amount of work - workstations need to be found and set up every day, sometimes several times a day. This adds work and stress
- damage the working environment - people like having their own desks, it's a much nicer way to work, they can have pictures of family, etc.
- H&S will be harmed as people just won't have time to properly set up their workstations to avoid WRULDs, etc.

So basically we're going to try to make sure our working conditions aren't worsened. Will post more in a bit about what we're doing.

Anyone have any similar experiences? What did you do?

Lone Wolf "An explanation is not the same as an excuse. "
Posts: 4352 Joined: 01-03-06 Location: E. London UK
12 January, 2008 - 18:39

No i haven't experienced this but i CAN tell you your employers are woefully out-of-date! Hot desking was a short-lived management fad of the mid 90's. If i had only ever read the above post, i would still know your employer was public-sector! Man i almost couldn't believe the thread title. roll eyes

If you feel they may be open to reason you could show them the reasons this does not work in the long-term - the reasons you gave plus others you can find out by just googling i would have thought.

If they are not, just ride out the storm - they will do it and make a fuss of it, it won't be workable, productivity will be lost, etc etc and then it will quietly be changed back without them admitting they were ever wrong - it will be couched under "we have a new policy now" etc. smile

Love

LW XX

steven
Posts: 8 Joined: 31-08-06
12 January, 2008 - 19:29

Anyone got or find any links to studies about hotdesking gone wrong, or evidence about whether it's good or not?

I found one good case study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.02/chiat_pr.html

martinh "Wears loud shirts for the poor & oppressed"
Posts: 865 Joined: 08-03-06 Location: South East London
12 January, 2008 - 20:53

Hotdesking only really ever works with the sort of people who are out of the office loads and only come in now and again. It also tends to need significant investment in equipment such as laptops. I seriously doubt that a public authority is about to start giving all its social workers laptops.

The few times I've had to do it it was in a place I was in one day a week and I just went wherever there was a space. It was a pain but I got other benefits from being there (it was a lot closer to home) so I didn't mind.

Where I am now,w e effectively have some contractors hotdesking, using whichever desk is free because someone is on leave or sick. However, a couple of people have special chairs and other set ups for H&S reasons, so some of them leave notes on their chairs to ask people not to sit on them or adjust them in any way.

I'd recommend a stubborn refusal to accept hot desking, and if the mood is there, go for making a big song and dance every morning you come in about where you're going to sit. WIth luck you can stretch the disruption out for an hour or more, once you've found a desk, adjusted your chair, adjusted your workstation etc.
Sooner or later management will get the hint. (And from my experience, even one person stubbornloy holding out can affect how far/fast management can go wink )

Regards,

Martin

steven
Posts: 8 Joined: 31-08-06
12 January, 2008 - 21:48

I think even from their POV this will fail, because people in the team need to talk to each other, and see clients. If clients arrive and we can't find the staff they won't be seen.

But things like hot desking break up links between staff, which is good for control over them. However we need to communicate lots, to do our jobs.

Lone Wolf wrote:
If you feel they may be open to reason you could show them the reasons this does not work in the long-term - the reasons you gave plus others you can find out by just googling i would have thought.

This won't work, they've spent a fortune on consultants and equipment to do this, you can't show "reason" to them. The other office is being closed, and when it is the other staff won't have anywhere else to go than our office.

Quote:
If they are not, just ride out the storm - they will do it and make a fuss of it, it won't be workable, productivity will be lost, etc etc and then it will quietly be changed back without them admitting they were ever wrong - it will be couched under "we have a new policy now" etc. :smile:

This probably will happen if we can't stop it. However that'll take a very long time, and the service will suffer, lots of staff will leave, and people's bodies will suffer from un-ergonomic workstations. We have to try and stop it now.

martinh wrote:
Hotdesking only really ever works with the sort of people who are out of the office loads and only come in now and again.

Yes, even our own council's guidelines say this. This is what we will probably argue - that all 5-day/week staff should have a desk, those mostly out can share them, with proper ergonomic equipment.

Quote:
I'd recommend a stubborn refusal to accept hot desking, and if the mood is there, go for making a big song and dance every morning you come in about where you're going to sit. WIth luck you can stretch the disruption out for an hour or more, once you've found a desk, adjusted your chair, adjusted your workstation etc.
Sooner or later management will get the hint. (And from my experience, even one person stubbornloy holding out can affect how far/fast management can go wink )

It hasn't happened yet. Here's what we've done so far...

I've emailed management to ask to see risk assessment. which they most likely haven't done, saying if they haven't I want to do it with them, with a load of H&S concerns. We're doing a questionnaire of all staff to present views to mgmt, and we have a shop meeting about it. Problem with the DA you suggest is by then it's happened, and there are way more staff than desks, and it'll be harder to sort out, and it could harm the clients. We will have to make contigency plans like that though, not sure if there'll be the mood for it though...

Steven. ""Best hair at Unison conference""
Posts: 1854 Joined: 27-06-06 Location: London
13 February, 2008 - 19:16

this is still going on btw, will try to write up how it's resolved. they seem determined to force it through though. v busy with this and another dispute over funding ending and redundancy - we want redeployment, and other stuff like unpaid wages for temps... no rest for the wicked eh.

Steven. ""Best hair at Unison conference""
Posts: 1854 Joined: 27-06-06 Location: London
17 February, 2008 - 23:19

good front page of saturday guardian work section!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/feb/16/workandcareers

will see what people at work thought tomorrow...

Lone Wolf "An explanation is not the same as an excuse. "
Posts: 4352 Joined: 01-03-06 Location: E. London UK
18 February, 2008 - 03:31

Yeah it is a good article Steven!

Groan a second revolution of the damn stupid practice that fell out of favour originally for all the reasons we have said and the article points out. roll eyes

As i said before they will lose favour with it again eventually but it is a hassle atm...good luck.