Table 7

A comparison between existing understanding of hot desking and our implications

DimensionExisting understandingOur implications
Primary focusPredominantly phenomenon-driven, focusing on “what happens” (e.g. cost-saving vs dissatisfaction) with no particular adoption of theoretical foundationsTheoretically anchored in technology affordance and constraints theory (TACT) to explain “why” these outcomes manifest
ConceptualizationViewed as a simple office policy, real estate strategy or physical layoutConceptualized as a digitally mediated socio-spatial work arrangement
Drivers of adoptionOften attributed to simple organizational goals like resource optimization or cost reductionDriven by a combination of external factors (digital tool proliferation) and internal factors (financial concerns and FOMO)
Individual experienceFocuses on surface-level symptoms like “dark sides” or general well-being/identity issuesIdentifies that organizational affordances (space efficiency) are directly experienced by individuals as structural constraints (spatial insecurity and resource deprivation)
Workplace behaviorViewed as individual misbehavior or lack of professional etiquetteReframed as a socio-material design problem where hot-desking acts as a potential structural antecedent to workplace bullying and resource-based conflict
Cultural contextOften limited to Western, individualistic contextsProvides exploratory insights on an “East-meets-West” perspective, showing how cultural differences moderate the dynamics of privacy and territoriality
Practical solutionFocuses on better policy enforcement or improved booking technologyArgues for active governance and need-based/risk-informed allocation to manage the tension between flexibility and psychological safety

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