VictorineTheCatLover Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 My employer is implementing hotdesking as of tomorrow. Can I please have ALL of your reasons why this is a fucking bad idea dueing this time? I would like to be able to send an email expressing my concerns Ta 1 1 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caitiri Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/covid-19-information-workplaces/industry-information/office/physical-distancing#heading--10--tab-toc-hot_desking_and_activity-based_work_arrangements 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillipa Crawford Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Each workplace should have a Covidsafe plan. What does yours say? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meepy Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 If you are in Vic the guidelines are here https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/business-and-work we are still at the stage of if you can work from home, you should work from home. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bicycle Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Cleaning between people. Unable to have specific ergonomic equipment like chairs for specific people, therefore anti disabled as a policy. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 If you're bringing your own laptop I don't really see the issue. At my work we just have to clean the area as we leave for the day - spray disinfectant, wipe down the desk, wipe down the drawers. If you can find some examples of it spreading via hot desking send that, but otherwise I don't think you should refuse to go based on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Cat Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 I wish I had answers for this. We've been sharing desks for ages and I know most people are not cleaning the desks. I hate it. 2 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyBear Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 If it's happening from tomorrow you may not really have any time to complain. Surely this has been planned for some time with changes to the office setup suit hot desking? Not currently in a hot desk arrangement but previously we had locker type pods of personal stationary, printouts etc that would slot into our desks for the day as it was unreasonable to carry out own to and from work each day and even pre-covid it was recognised as unsanitary to share. Both workplaces I have had hot desks, I have found people tend to still use the same desk each day except those at less that full time. Suggest if it hasn't been made clear, asking for covid safe clarifications but not alot else you can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyBear Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 I personally wouldn’t mind, it would be good to mix up who I sit near. In saying that thought work safe had it as a no no right now? Yep here in Vic not recommended- https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/managing-covid-19-risks-office-environment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyOMy Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Government health department and we’ve been hot desking right through, no work from home at any stage. We disinfect at start and end of shift. There’s no real other alternative for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nom_de_plume Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Also a state government employee. We are currently WFH but our office is all hot desks. There are disinfectant wipes and hand sanitiser at every desk so you can wipe the area and peripherals (mouse, keyboard) when you arrive and leave. Most people BYO peripherals though. Cleaners come through every hour to sanitise high touch points such as light switches, door handles, printers, coffee machines and the water cooler. Our tearooms and toilets are checked hourly and cleaned as necessary. I agree with above that those who are in the office regularly (4-5 days per week) tend to use the same desk each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearson Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Cleaning and sanitising between uses. Take your own if you need to (should not have to) Make sure that the headset is not used by anyone else at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley225 Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Parts of my old organisation were moving towards it and i'm sure they wanted to move everyone. But it's awkward so many have personalised equipment. I had my own OH&S chair, mouse, screen and footstool. All other desks had two screens on raisers. I can only see out of one eye at a time and have to ignore one screen and it was far to far away to see so i got my own one large screen right at the end of the keyboard so it wouldn't have worked for me and luckily never had to test it except when i did work in one of those offices had to go book a laptop dock in and just put up for the day aching hand and straining to see. And pretty much all around me had specialised equipment. It would take half the day fixing each desk up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabellaKagical Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) Wouldn't your employer make reasonable accomodations for you if you were still there, though? We are in the process of going to hot desking and we have already been asked about any issues like special chairs and equipment. Hot-desking hasn't had a lot of pushback with our staff though as it comes with the carrot of WFA (work from anywhere) and the sanitising proposed is reasonable and if you work at least 3 days a week in the office you can "keep" your desk, so its not too bad, although I am have an office so it does not affect me directly Edited August 3, 2021 by ArabellaKagical 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verucasalt Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 (edited) My agency is not renewing one of its leases so this is on the cards from 2022. I'm hoping that enough people scatter to the regions and then perhaps I might not have to "share". I don't care what you are using to clean such an environment, between shared desks, desk phones and air conditioning it's a serious risk. I cannot believe the open discrimination in some of the work places around tailored equipment. Edited August 3, 2021 by verucasalt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifesGood Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Haven't they decided covid isn't likely to spread via surfaces? Especially when you consider there is usually a gap of 16 hours between people using the desks. We have hotdesking as standard at our workplace (obvs no one is there atm - Sydney). There are wipes and hand sanitiser on each desk. We bring our own laptops and are required to wipe everything down on arrival and departure. Not sure its a great idea to implement it right now though, while people are already nervous. But is it because your employer is moving to people WFH part of each week? If so they are probably looking to save on office space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarzie Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 We started desk sharing last week and we have time at the beginning and end of the day to clean. I’m only sharing with 1-2 people. I work from home as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorineTheCatLover Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Ok to answer some questions... Only four people per row of desks and we are back to back in each row. It is a first come first served basis. If I am on earlies I can get pretty much the same desk. Lates will see me get the leftovers. We will not sit next to the same person each day. Not even the same team will sit together. Team leaders may be up the opposite end of the room. We will have to log in and set up each new computer and phone every time. Our profiles are not kept unless we sit at one we have sat at before. Headsets are our own. Extra cleaning overnight but I will be bringing my own wipes. The only people who won't move will be the three that have an ergonomic set up desk only. There is one of my team who will have to move her keyboard/mouse/screen raisers and foot rest to each desk every day. No work from home provisions will be made. I could understand if they gave each team allotted rows of desks and it was first come etc but we wont even be in teams fgs This was decided by upper management on Monday when they realised they had no room for all the new hires coming out of training in the next ten days. Lift limits are four people per lift for the building. No one is happy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bells Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 If no work from home provisions are made, and there is not enough desks - what happens to the people who miss out once they arrive? I'm not sure how hot desks solves the problem? It assumes that there will always be enough people on some kind of leave??? That's a big assumption. In that case, it would be just as workable to allocate desks for a team, and let the team determine what happens (including taking turns to WFH). 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Cat Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 We went through a massive exercise to identify which desks were being used only part time and making sure we filled them with a bum on a seat when the main occupant is away. This was done fairly recently, also due to new hires. My role isn't subject to that particular arrangement but I'm a member of a team that works across two sites and we switch desks constantly. I hate it. There are supposed to be wipes and hand sanitiser everywhere but there really aren't. I keep mine in mine drawer so they don't go walkabout. People sometimes use my team's desks when they're doing overtime. I've come in to find crumbs and coffee rings on my desk. If I was in a an area which actually had covid cases I'd be making a fuss. As it is, I'm just sucking up this discomfort so I don't miss out on a promotion because of unwillingness to adapt or something. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifesGood Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 11 minutes ago, VictorineTheCatLover said: Ok to answer some questions... Only four people per row of desks and we are back to back in each row. It is a first come first served basis. If I am on earlies I can get pretty much the same desk. Lates will see me get the leftovers. Yep, this is how hotdesking works. We will not sit next to the same person each day. Not even the same team will sit together. Team leaders may be up the opposite end of the room. At our office we have 'neighbourhoods' which your team sits in together. Within the team you are likely to sit next to someone different, although some people are creatures of habit and sit at the same desks next to the same people each day. We will have to log in and set up each new computer and phone every time. Our profiles are not kept unless we sit at one we have sat at before. Headsets are our own. Again, yes this sounds normal. Extra cleaning overnight but I will be bringing my own wipes. The only people who won't move will be the three that have an ergonomic set up desk only. There is one of my team who will have to move her keyboard/mouse/screen raisers and foot rest to each desk every day. At our office, all equipment is ergonomic as standard. All screens/laptop stands/chairs/desks are fully adjustable. If you need a foot rest or arm rest you bring your own - there are lockers to store these in overnight. No work from home provisions will be made. Have they provided enough desks for everyone, everyday? Or have they assumed a certain % won't be in the office each day? We initially had around 80% capacity but are moving to 50% capacity due to increase in WFH arrangements. I could understand if they gave each team allotted rows of desks and it was first come etc but we wont even be in teams fgs This was decided by upper management on Monday when they realised they had no room for all the new hires coming out of training in the next ten days. That's pathetic planning. No wonder people are upset. Lift limits are four people per lift for the building. No one is happy OP I have answered within your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToLove Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 We were hot desking for a while this year (department expanded while in lockdown and took a while to find space in the office for everyone). I personally didn’t mind hot desking mainly because we also had a roster for which days you could be onsite and desks were more than 1.5m apart. Anyways, We had little cards on each desk with green on one side and red on the other. You sat down at a green desk and flipped it over to red. Professional cleaners cleaned and disinfected the desk after hours. Work also provided sanitiser and wipes if we wanted to clean it ourselves. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictorineTheCatLover Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Life's Good...I know how hotdesking works. I've done it. But during a fucking pandemic AND lockdown is not ok! One of the rationale's used was they will not have to look up who is not in each day either sick or on RDO. They'll just be able to see the vacant desks left and tell people to sit there. Setting up each computer and phone wouldn't be an issue if it didn't take a min 20 to 30 mins to do. Not to mention IT issues if for some reason your password won't work if your profile can't be found. No teams sit together. First come first served regardless of team or team leader. As I said my tram leader could be at the opposite end of the room from now on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumbette Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Government health here too - we also hot desk. Almost makes me grateful for lockdown just so I can avoid it, homeschooling and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petal71 Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Yeah, not a fan. I have multiple books and other materials and like being able to leave all that in my cubicle. Also desk set up takes ages, footstools go missing, you end up working just with laptop and no second monitor as arent enough to go around. Hard to personalise space too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.