Hot desks are not cool with office workers

In the Before Times, millions of white collar workers would get up every weekday morning, get dressed, commute into the office and work at their desk for the day. Since the pandemic, working from home has become more common. That’s resulted in a lot of unused office space across the country.

As companies start to think about what work will look like as pandemic restrictions ease, one trend seems to be emerging: Hot-desking. This is the idea that there are no assigned seats in an office. Instead, an employee books their spot before coming in through an app.

While the idea saves companies’ money, the question of whether employees will be happy in this environment is up for debate. Vanmala Subramaniam is the Globe’s Future of Work reporter. She tells us why this trend is gaining traction now, what workers told her about their experience with it and how hot-desking will transform post-pandemic office life.