Research has revealed that most UK workers don't like hot desking, preferring to make their space in the office their own.

Business Argus has spoken to local business people to find out what they think...

Ashley Harkus, managing partner, Everett Tomlin Lloyd and Pratt Solicitors, Newport Pontypool and Usk

While we have invested in IT systems that allow our staff to have access to files and work from pretty much anywhere, the vast majority of our solicitors and support staff have their own offices and desks. Having to move your personal belongings and hunt for a free desk may be suitable in some workplaces but seems a pretty miserable way of working to me. I haven’t met anyone who likes hot desking but I guess there may be people out there who like the challenge of having to find somewhere to sit as part of their daily work routine.

Jakko Brouwers, director, Morrello Clinic, Newport

We have a team of 12 of specialist physiotherapists working from our Newport clinic. They do not need ‘desks’ as such but they do require consulting rooms for their client appointments. Some of them have preferred consulting rooms but on the whole they are happy to work from whichever one is available and most suitably equipped. This form of ‘hot-desking’ works for the company, clients and our team as it allows us to make best use of the space in the clinic and also means that we don’t have empty space in the clinic. Sometimes not having designated space for each physiotherapist can cause a bit of a problem but we are able to work around this.

Cerys Roberts, sales manager, Kingston Newell Estate Agents, Newport

We are able to hot desk in our office and it works for us because for the majority of the working day we are in and out of the office attending viewings and valuations so having a permanent base isn’t that important. Cloud based software also makes it much easier to access emails and documents from wherever we might be rather than having to come back to our desktop. I’m aware that during the last couple of years companies like IndyCube have opened in the city providing a variety of hot desk options for freelancers, start-ups and microbusinesses offering daily hire fees without any long term contracts. I can certainly see the benefits of this offering.

Dan Smith, M4 Property Consultants

We’re in a small office of only four people, and have the luxury of our own work stations. It works for us as we kit out our own desks with what we need. We do, however, switch seats occasionally to access the property management software we use. I know research has been done into hot desking and there are pros and cons of working that way. It probably depends on the industry and what your job requires of you as to whether hot desking would be beneficial. We’re in and out throughout the day at meetings and viewings are able to use Sharepoint to access our documents wherever we are. So although having our own spaces probably isn’t crucial to the work we do, it is nice!

Simon Collins, account director, Compass Media Relations

In certain circumstances, hot desking can be very rewarding and serve to shake-up the 9-5. We have a desk at Welsh ICE in Caerphilly which we use roughly once a week. It's refreshing to work in the hustle and bustle of a start-up community, where the energy and enthusiasm can be infectious. It has also worked as natural referral system, as working with and learning about exciting new business increases our network.

Geraint Yeo, general manager, David Spear Commercials, Tredegar

Hot desking is a normal part of day to day life here. Technology allows our people to utilise mobile devices and carry out their responsibilities around the needs of the business and more importantly the customer. This applies to senior and middle managers as well as customer facing staff. Our core values are all about being bold and responsive, so we are constantly challenging ourselves to do things differently in order to exceed the customers’ expectation level and that includes not being chained to a workstation.