Journal article
From flexibility to friction: intended and unintended consequences of hot-desking in workplaces
Journal of enterprise information management, Vol.First online, pp.1-27
17/07/2026
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Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to theorize the tensions of hot-desking. Moving beyond its surface-level effects, we explain its complex impact on employee well-being and organizational conflict.
Design/methodology/approach: Using a multi-platform netnographic approach, we analyzed unsolicited discussions from online communities to capture diverse, authentic experiences across Eastern and Western contexts.
Findings: Grounded in technology affordance and constraints theory (TACT), our central finding is that hot-desking's affordances and constraints are dynamically co-produced. The organizational affordance of space efficiency is directly experienced by employees as a constraint of spatial insecurity and resource deprivation. This core tension fuels emergent social conflicts, such as senior staff "claiming" desks, as individuals seek stability.
Originality/value: Our primary contribution is a process model explaining how hot-desking's dual outcomes emerge in practice. We advance theory by demonstrating that potential negative consequences, from potential workplace bullying to reduced well-being and working capacities, are structural outcomes of the core tension between organizational affordances and individual constraints, despite the affordance of space efficiency and exposure to different co-workers. This reframes the problem from one of individual misbehavior to one of socio-material design. Practically, we argue that effective governance requires managers to address this tension, not merely enforce surface-level policies, thus paving the way for more effective workplace strategies in digital settings.
Details
- Title
- From flexibility to friction: intended and unintended consequences of hot-desking in workplaces
- Creators
- Cheuk Hang Au - Edith Cowan UniversityLin Yue - Macquarie UniversitySiqi Gao - Southern Cross UniversityGuanglei Cheng - Australian National University
- Publication Details
- Journal of enterprise information management, Vol.First online, pp.1-27
- Publisher
- Emerald Group Publishing
- Number of pages
- 27
- Identifiers
- 991013392652402368
- Copyright
- © Cheuk Hang Au, Lin Yue, Siqi Gao and Guanglei Cheng.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article