Two articles on “hotdesking” from

Two articles on “hotdesking” from the archives of Wired Magazine (Wired links courtesy of The Social Life of Information):

Virtual Chiat, from 1994, outlines Jay Chiat’s plan to transform the offices of his company from traditional to virtual: no assigned seats, no computer or phone of your own, almost no rooms, no walls, no paper, and no personal space aside from a tiny locker (from my point of view, personal space isn’t personal unless you can fit a person in it).

Not surprisingly, Lost in Space, published in 1999, details the failure of Chiat’s plan. People need access to personal, collaborative, and private spaces all at the same time to work effectively.

The office I work in right now could be described as “psuedo-hotdesked”. People have their own desks, computers, and phones, but there are no walls, sparse collaborative space, and personal effects on walls and desks are frowned upon. In principle, I like the idea of a malleable work environment, but I have yet to hear of or experience a system that actually delivers on the promise.