10 advantages and disadvantages of desk sharing

Advantages and disadvantages of desk sharing ✓ Comparison table ✓ When is desk sharing worthwhile? ✓ Read now!

By Isolde Van der Knaap
0 min reading
September 4, 2025
June 12, 2026
10 advantages and disadvantages of desk sharing

On This Page

Craft Solutions That Resonate With UsersInnovate to Stay Ahead of the CurveFoster a Community Around Your BrandInnovate to Elevate User EngagementTransform Ideas into Tangible OutcomesEmpower Your Brand with Unique Storytelling

Advantages and disadvantages of desk sharing

What are the advantages of desk sharing?

Desk sharing can help you to better organise the workspaces in your office, reduce their number in some cases and thus make more conscious use of the available space than before. This gives you and your team spaces that are better suited to your way of working and have a more modern feel overall.

Fewer desks, more space for employees

If your employees work from home part of the time, desks in the office will be empty. You can therefore reduce the number of desks and have your team share the available workspaces.

This step frees up space that you can make available to your team for other purposes. You can set up quiet zones for concentrated work or areas with rolling tables and movable partitions that work groups can reconfigure for their projects.

👉 According to Fraunhofer IAO, up to 30% less office space for desks is possible if workspaces are distributed intelligently.

You adapt the office to actual behaviour

Attendance fluctuates much more today than it used to. In many teams, employees are in the office two to three days a week, spread across different days of the week.

When you introduce desk sharing, you align your office with these actual usage patterns instead of a rigid full occupancy. This prevents individual spaces, entire offices or seating areas from standing empty and ensures that you can better plan the available space and layout.

Communication between departments improves

When seating is redistributed on a daily basis, colleagues from different teams get to talk to each other. This improves communication in everyday work, especially in areas where information is not only shared in meetings, but also in passing.

These conversations broaden everyone's perspective and increase understanding of each other's work.

You can react more quickly to changes

When you hire new employees or the team structure changes, you don't have to adjust the entire office space every time and you are not tied to a rigid configuration.

With desk sharing, you use the existing workspaces in such a way that everything works even during growth or restructuring. New employees simply fit into the ongoing workflow. There is no need to set up a new desk and hardware for them when they start work.

Keep an eye on office utilisation and the use of workspaces and meeting rooms with Office Insights from PULT. With the figures in front of you, you can react to emerging changes.

You reduce resource consumption

By reducing space requirements, desk sharing can significantly contribute to ensuring that you do not have to move to a larger property as your company grows. You remain in a comparatively smaller space with lower energy requirements, less cleaning and fewer equipment costs.

If more employees work remotely or in a hybrid model at the same time, CO₂ emissions from daily commuting are also reduced. Desk sharing can therefore help to achieve operational sustainability goals without compromising performance.

What are the disadvantages of desk sharing?

Desk sharing leads to problems when more employees come to the office at the same time than there are seats available. If there are no binding booking rules, this can lead to misunderstandings. In addition, the requirements for cleaning and coordination within the team increase.

Lack of available workspaces

If more employees come to the office at the same time than there are seats available, workspaces have to be improvised or some employees have to leave the office and switch to working from home or coworking spaces.

You can avoid this situation entirely by regularly checking capacity utilisation and introducing a reliable booking system. To check this, you can use the desk sharing ratio as a measure of the ratio of your number of employees to the number of workspaces currently available.

No personalisation of the workplace

Desk sharing eliminates the need for a fixed workstation with permanently placed personal items and individual storage space. Even the monitor, desk height and office chair are still set to the previous user's preferences when you start work.

Offer your employees the opportunity to store personal items, work equipment and documents securely. Lockers or lockable rolling containers are ideal for this purpose. This allows employees to continue using their favourite mug and placing family photos on their desk every day.

When purchasing new office equipment, make sure that monitors, chairs and desks are very easy to adjust. Height-adjustable desks are available with quick-select buttons that can be used to select different heights.

Greater organisational effort

Desk sharing only works if the process is clearly regulated. This includes booking systems, definable zones and information about which workstations are available and when. The handling of short-term changes or colleagues who do not show up must also be defined.

The larger your team, the more important it is to have binding desk sharing rules, for example in the form of an internal guideline or works agreement.

Hygiene and equipment requirements increase

If a different person uses the same workstation every day, the cleaning interval must be adjusted. Surfaces, keyboards, mice and chairs need to be cleaned more frequently than with fixed workstations.

The technical equipment must also be suitable for changing users. Height-adjustable chairs, easily positionable monitors and standardised connections (docking stations) are necessary so that every workstation is immediately ready for use, regardless of who is using it.

Irregular personal contact

With changing workstations, it can be more difficult to meet certain colleagues or make arrangements in person. If you can't find anyone in the office with whom you want or need to work, you lose time or postpone upcoming tasks. New employees and cross-location teams in particular need clear information about who is in the office and when.

In PULT, your employees can see where other colleagues are working. This makes it easier for them to sit next to each other. You can also reserve individual areas for specific groups or departments.

Comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of desk sharing

Advantages

  • Unoccupied desks are saved when employees also work from home.
  • Freed-up space can be redesigned for quiet zones or team areas.
  • Office occupancy adapts over time to the actual behaviour of the teams.
  • Teams mix more; there is more exchange between departments.
  • The number of workstations can be scaled in response to changes without requiring additional space.
  • Resource consumption decreases: energy, cleaning, furniture and commuting.

Disadvantages

  • Bottlenecks can arise if no booking software is used and more employees come to the office at the same time than there are seats available.
  • The workplace must be adjusted daily to suit the individual's height; lockers must be purchased for personal belongings.
  • The organisational effort increases: booking, communication and utilisation must be managed.
  • Cleaning must be carried out more frequently as workstations are used by different people.
  • Spontaneous coordination is limited to digital channels when it is not clear who is in the office and when.

When is desk sharing worthwhile?

Desk sharing is worthwhile if employees already work in a hybrid manner and do not have any specialised requirements for their workplace. Daily use can then be organised with fewer desks without compromising productivity.

The model is less suitable or not suitable at all for activities that require fixed and special equipment or involve confidential conversations at the workplace. Desk sharing also has its limits in teams with a high office presence.

Desk sharing is suitable if...

  • Employees regularly work in a hybrid manner: Those who are only in the office two or three days a week do not need a fixed workstation. In such teams, occupancy remains predictable on average.
  • Workstations are equipped with standardised equipment: Uniform furniture, monitors, connections and technical requirements ensure that every workstation can be used by anyone without the need for reconfiguration or technical hurdles.
  • Tasks can be performed regardless of location: Those who work with a laptop and headset and do not need any special equipment or documents can easily work in different locations.
  • Communication is well organised: if it is clear to the team who is in the office and when, coordination works even without fixed seating arrangements.

Desk sharing is not suitable if ...

  • Employees have special ergonomic or medical requirements. Those who rely on special equipment, such as orthopaedic chairs or individual monitors for image processing, should keep a fixed seat.
  • Work is mainly confidential: staff appraisals or other very personal conversations; handling data that must remain confidential.

How can desk sharing be implemented successfully?

Desk sharing is a tool for adapting your office to the actual use and working behaviour of your team. If employees regularly work in a hybrid manner, you can save space by sharing workstations and use this space to benefit your team in other ways.

It is important that you take a structured approach to implementation:

You need clearly defined booking procedures, standardised equipment for each workspace and software that shows you how much your office is being used over time.

With the desk booking software PULT, your team can book workspaces, rooms and zones with a single click. Your employees can see directly which spaces are available, filter by equipment and see where their teammates are already sitting.

At the same time, you can evaluate the office usage data in Office Insights and see which rooms and zones are particularly popular and which ones you can remove or convert.

Tip: Here you will find inspiration for modern office concepts and help with workplace management.

{{cta}}

Trusted by 1000+ innovative workplaces

A new hybrid workplace experience is coming. Start Now. 🎉

Book a free demo
FAQ

Have questions?

Are there legal requirements for minimum space when desk sharing?

Yes, the Workplace Ordinance (ArbStättV) also applies to desk sharing. As a rule, at least 8 to 10 m² per workstation should be calculated, depending on the activity, equipment and use of space. Here you can find more information on labour law in relation to desk sharing.

How can I regulate desk sharing in a works agreement?

It is important that the rules are binding and understandable. You should specify booking requirements, room zones, no-show rules and technical requirements. It is best to draw up the agreement together with the works council.

What happens if someone does not use their booked space?

This can be regulated: in PULT, you can set the time after which a booked space is released again.

How can I avoid employees feeling overlooked?

It is important that you prepare well for the introduction, explain why desk sharing is being introduced and that it is not at the expense of employees. Plan together with your team which rooms and zones are desired and needed.

About author

Isolde Van der Knaap

Hybrid Work Enthusiast and Account Executive

LinkedIn

At PULT we're designing the future of the hybrid workplace for companies and their employees. Focused on SME and mid market customers in Eruope, I'm working on everything from Customer Discovery to Onboarding. I'm very passionate about new work and moved to Hamburg in 2024 even though I'm originally from France.

Resources

Learn how to run better workplace operations

Office Insights

Open-Concept Office: Pros and cons, design, and modern concepts

An open-concept office is an open workspace where many employees work together without partition walls. Noise, a lack of private spaces, and constant interruptions are considered the biggest drawbacks of open-concept offices. However, you can solve these very problems through zoning, well-designed soundproofing, and skillful space planning.

Learn More

Open-concept Office: The Most Important Points at a Glance

✓

An open-concept office refers to an open workspace for multiple teams without fixed partitions and is one of the most common office concepts in companies that adopt a hybrid work model.

✓

The biggest drawback of open-concept offices is the noise level: noise and acoustic distractions are among the most commonly cited causes of loss of concentration and declining productivity in open-concept offices.

✓

Zoning, acoustic partitions, and sound-absorbing materials solve the core problems in open-concept offices because they physically separate areas for concentration, communication, and relaxation.

✓

PULT makes it possible to plan open-concept offices: Through Desk Booking and Office Insights, the software shows which zones are actually being used and provides occupancy data for space planning tailored to actual needs.

What is an open-concept office?

An open-concept office (or open-plan office) is a contiguous office area in which more than ten employees work in an open space without floor-to-ceiling walls. It differs from a cubicle office in its open structure and from purely open-space areas in that it has clearly defined functional zones.

How does an open-concept office differ from a traditional office?

Office types can be classified based on how the space is divided. From cubicle offices with individual rooms to combination offices and open-concept offices, the openness of the space increases gradually.

A modern open-concept office combines open workspaces with activity zones—areas each designed for a specific task. It is precisely this zoning that distinguishes this well-thought-out concept from a simple desk arrangement.

For hybrid teams, an open floor plan makes particular sense. When part of your workforce is working from home, shared workspaces allow for much more efficient use of space than permanently assigned individual offices.

What are the pros and cons of open-concept offices?

Open-concept offices offer short lines of communication and high space efficiency, but their main drawbacks are noise and a lack of private spaces. The balance between these two factors determines whether the space is productive or stressful.

What are the advantages of an open-concept office?

The advantages of an open-concept office lie in collaboration and cost savings. Teams can easily coordinate with one another; these discussions take place without the need to schedule appointments, and new employees are able to integrate more quickly.

Added to this is the financial benefit. An open-concept office with shared workstations significantly reduces per-capita office costs, especially in companies where a high percentage of employees work from home.

✓

Short lines of communication: Teams coordinate with one another without organizational hurdles.

✓

Greater space efficiency: Shared workstations reduce costs per employee.

✓

Greater transparency and visibility: You can immediately see who is present and what people are working on.

✓

Faster onboarding: New colleagues learn the processes by working closely with the team.

What are the disadvantages of an open-concept office?

The biggest drawback of open-concept offices is the noise level. Conversations, phone calls, and keyboard clicks all blend together, and it is precisely this acoustic distraction that is one of the most common reasons why concentration suffers in an open-concept office.

In a controlled laboratory experiment, a research team at Bond University demonstrated that typical open-concept office noise increases negative mood by 25% and the physical stress response by 34%—as measured by heart rate and skin conductance—after just eight minutes of noise exposure. In real-world office settings, where employees are exposed to these noise levels for hours on end, these effects are correspondingly more pronounced. (Sander et al., Journal of Management & Organization, 2021)

Open-concept office layouts also significantly reduce face-to-face communication. In two field studies conducted with Fortune 500 companies, the volume of face-to-face interaction dropped by about 70% after the transition to an open-concept layout, while email and instant messaging traffic increased sharply. People who are constantly visible to everyone tend to withdraw inwardly and turn to digital channels. (Bernstein & Turban, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Harvard Business School, 2018). The availability of private spaces is therefore an important factor in well-being.

How do I design a modern open-concept office?

A productive and employee-friendly open-concept office is created through spatial zoning based on activity, effective soundproofing, and space planning based on actual usage data. However, furniture and rules alone are not enough if the basic layout of the space does not suit the way people work.

How does zoning work in an open-concept office?

Zoning divides the open space into areas for different activities. This principle stems from the activity-based working concept, in which each type of work is assigned its own appropriate space:

✓

Quiet areas for concentration and quiet, independent work.

✓

Opportunities for collaboration.

✓

Customizable project areas for teamwork and time-bound projects.

✓

Quiet, secluded areas for breaks and relaxation.

This allows employees to choose a workspace that suits their current task and ensures they have the best possible conditions there.

What type of soundproofing is suitable for an open-concept office?

Effective soundproofing in an open-concept office is achieved through sound-absorbing materials and physical barriers. The combination of elements on the ceiling, on the floor, as well as room dividers and large plants reduces the noise level.

✓

Acoustic partitions between workstations block sound directly at the source.

✓

Large plants with lush foliage also act as natural sound barriers.

✓

Upholstered furniture and upholstered room dividers absorb sound.

✓

Floor-to-ceiling partitions in an open-concept office separate zones from one another both acoustically and visually.

Acoustic panels on the ceiling and walls, sound-absorbing carpeting and rugs, and enclosed phone booths for video calls significantly reduce noise levels.

In cases where noise levels remain high despite these measures, the cause usually lies in the use of the space itself.

How does Desk Booking help optimize space in an open-concept office?

Desk Booking provides the data needed to plan an open-concept office according to actual needs. Rather than relying on assumptions, booking and occupancy data show which areas are regularly in use and which, by contrast, remain empty.

This leads to specific ways to adapt the space that allow for the redistribution and management of its use. For example, if the area designated for quiet work is consistently overbooked while spaces for collaboration remain empty, this is a measurable indicator that the layout needs to be redesigned.

PULT provides the necessary occupancy data: This allows you to analyze the use of your office space, and employees can reserve their seats in the appropriate zone.

How to Turn Your Open-Concept Office Into a Productive Workplace

An open-concept office becomes productive through zoning based on activity, effective soundproofing, and space planning based on actual usage data. The open space is preserved, and its weaknesses are eliminated through the right structure.

✓

With PULT Office Insights, you can see which areas of your space are actually being used and plan renovations based on real data.

✓

Your employees can reserve a workspace in the appropriate zone and see where their colleagues are already seated.

✓

You manage capacity and attendance all in one place.

{{onpage-cta}}

Office Insights

Workplace Automation: What does it really mean for your office?

Workplace automation refers to the automation of daily, recurring office tasks, from desk reservations to visitor registration. For companies with a hybrid work model, the question arises as to which processes can be automated and how this can be done in compliance with the GDPR.

Learn More

Workplace Automation: The Basics

✓

Workplace Automation automates recurring office processes—such as room and desk reservations, attendance tracking, and visitor management—based on rules, without requiring employees to manually initiate each step.

✓

You can identify office processes that are ready for automation by three characteristics: clearly definable rules, a high frequency of repetition, and a measurable susceptibility to errors when processed manually.

✓

SMEs must ensure compliance with three requirements before launching: GDPR-compliant data storage, involvement of the works council (Section 87 of the Works Constitution Act), and adherence to EU hosting standards to avoid issues related to the Cloud Act.

✓

PULT is an all-in-one office management platform that automates desk booking, room reservations, office analytics, and visitor management, and integrates fully with MS Teams, Personio, and Slack so your office runs without any manual intervention.

What is workplace automation

Workplace automation encompasses all software-driven office processes in which a defined rule or algorithm determines the next step.

This ranges from automatic booking confirmations to rescheduling meeting rooms when the number of participants does not match the room size. In this way, workplace automation goes beyond mere digitization measures. Digitization converts paper forms into machine-readable data. Automation handles the resulting tasks on its own.

Which office processes can be automated?

Processes that occur daily and always follow the same or a similar pattern are ready for automation.

Area Manual Process Automated version
Space & Workplace Booking meeting rooms, spaces, and workstations by arrangement, via a list, or by email. Self-booking with automatic confirmation
Space & Workplace Identifying and Resolving Duplicate Bookings Automatic detection and rebooking in the event of capacity conflicts
Space & Workplace Send a reminder for your own desk reservation Automatic push notification to the user
Space & Workplace Coordinate Parking Assignments Using a Spreadsheet Automatic assignment of parking spaces based on predefined booking rules
Visitor Management Visitor Registration at the Front Desk Paperless Self-Registration with GDPR-Compliant Data Collection
Visitor Management Notify the host by phone when visitors are arriving Automatic notifications via MS Teams or Slack
Office Evaluation Track Office Utilization Using Handouts Real-Time Analysis of Office Usage
Office Evaluation Compile capacity utilization reports yourself Automatically generated reports based on occupancy data
Human Resources Management Manage Leave Requests via Email Automated approval process with status notifications
Human Resources Management Create and Send Onboarding Checklists Automated task assignment and access granting upon admission
Attendance & Planning Who is in the office and when? Check with them to find out. Real-Time Automatic Attendance Overview
Attendance & Planning Coordinate office days with the team via chat Rule-Based Scheduling with Attendance Thresholds
IT & Access Manually Set Up Access for New Employees Automatic Assignment of Permissions via SSO and HR Integration
IT & Access Access Control by Reception Staff Automated access control via app or badge
Buildings & Facilities Cleaning schedules based on a fixed weekly plan Cleaning Based on Actual Room Usage
Compliance & Security Manually Maintain Attendance Lists for Fire Safety Real-time occupancy data as the basis for evacuation plans

How does automated room and desk booking work?

For example, an automated meeting room management system detects when two people book a conference room that is actually designed to accommodate 20 people. The system identifies the discrepancy and automatically rebooks the reservation into a smaller, suitable room.

This reduces the number of conflicts over available spaces and frees up time for office managers that was previously spent on manual adjustments. Workplace automation via Wi-Fi check-in takes this a step further: As soon as you log in to the office with your device, the system automatically reserves your desk without a single click.

What compliance considerations must a company keep in mind when implementing workplace automation?

Automating office processes always involves processing data. Therefore, three points must be clarified:

✓

GDPR Compliance: What data does the tool collect, how long is it stored, and who has access to it? Booking data and attendance records are considered personal data.

✓

Employee Participation: As soon as a tool tracks attendance or workload, Section 87(1)(6) of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) applies. You must consult with the works council before implementing it.

✓

Hosting: EU hosting with a German or European data center circumvents the Cloud Act issues that arise with U.S. providers without an EU branch.

How do I get started with Workplace Automation?

To automate your workplace, start by identifying all the processes that, although they follow a very consistent pattern, are repeatedly carried out manually by employees. Review these processes and provide your team with software to automate them. The more processes a single software solution can handle, the fewer new tools you'll need to burden your team with.

1

Identify processes: Which processes take more than 30 minutes each day or regularly produce errors? These are the first candidates.

2

Examine the process: Is the current process already the best option? Or could it be streamlined?

3

Select a tool based on its integration capabilities: EU hosting and integration with existing systems are important selection criteria.

4

Roll out the changes gradually: Start with one feature—such as automatic room booking—and then expand to other areas after receiving positive feedback.

5

Review KPIs after 4 weeks: How many booking conflicts remained? How much administrative time was saved? How has office utilization changed?

Here's how PULT puts your office management on autopilot

Your workplace automations work best when they're bundled into a single software solution rather than spread across multiple tools. You can bundle workstation and room reservations, presence detection, occupancy analysis, visitor management, and parking management into PULT:

✓

Desk booking, room booking, and office analytics are all handled in a single tool, without any integration issues between individual systems.

✓

Automatic presence detection via your existing Wi-Fi system.

✓

Office Insights provide data and analyses on office utilization.

✓

Full integration with MS Teams, Slack, Personio, and HiBob.

{{onpage-cta}}

Office Insights

Huddle Meetings: How to make daily team check-ins truly productive

A huddle meeting is a daily or regular team check-in that takes no more than 15 minutes to align priorities and identify roadblocks. The difference from a traditional status meeting lies in its structure and in what you consistently leave out afterward.

Learn More

Huddle Meeting: The Basics

✓

A huddle meeting is a regular team check-in limited to 10 to 15 minutes, with three set questions: What was completed yesterday? What's on the agenda for today? What's currently holding the team back?

✓

The Daily Huddle meeting format works whether held in person or virtually, without an agenda document and with a rotating spokesperson. Anything that goes beyond the three core questions should be addressed in follow-up discussions afterward.

✓

For hybrid teams, team huddle meetings require some ground rules: cameras on, a fixed time zone, a breakout channel for follow-up discussions, and GDPR-compliant policies for recording.

✓

PULT, the all-in-one software for hybrid office management, shows moderators in real time every day who is in the office and who is working remotely. This provides a reliable information basis for every huddle meeting before it begins.

What is a huddle meeting?

A huddle meeting is a short, structured team discussion of a fixed duration (10 to 15 minutes) that takes place daily. The goal is to coordinate efforts. Discussions should be held in separate follow-up meetings. Each team member answers the same three questions:

1

What did I finish yesterday?

2

What do I have to do today?

3

What's holding me back right now?

The concept originates from Scrum, where the daily huddle is known as the daily standup. It is now also used by HR, operations, and sales teams, as well as cross-functional teams that coordinate across locations.

What is the proper format for a huddle meeting?

The huddle meeting format requires three key conditions to be effective: strict adherence to the schedule, the assignment of a facilitator, and a fixed list of participants.

1

Duration and Timing. The Daily Huddle Meeting takes place at the same time every day. Exceptions weaken the routine. The maximum duration is 15 minutes. If you regularly go over that time, you should consider whether parts of the content belong in a separate format.

2

Participants. Only individuals who are directly dependent on one another. Larger departments are divided into smaller subgroups.

3

Facilitator's Role. A facilitator keeps track of time and consistently directs discussions toward follow-up conversations. Rotating facilitation fosters a sense of personal responsibility within the team.

Element Standard Remote/Hybrid
Duration 10 to 15 min. 10 to 15 min.
Format While standing Camera on
Moderation Rotating Specified
Follow-up meetings Right after that Breakout Channel
Minutes Optional Note Short Chat Log

What changes in the team huddle meeting in a hybrid office?

In teams where some members are in the office and others are working remotely, three issues arise that could undermine the format: remote participants become passive listeners, discussions in the plenary session get out of hand, or technical problems delay or prolong the meeting.

Checklist for Hybrid Team Huddle Meetings:

✓

Cameras are required for all participants, including office groups sharing a screen.

✓

Real-time chat in the team chat during the meeting.

✓

Breakout session or a fixed time slot on the calendar for follow-up meetings immediately afterward.

✓

A fixed meeting link and time zone in everyone's calendar.

✓

Facilitating from a remote setting to ensure that remote participants are on an equal footing in terms of structure.

Clear hybrid work policies are essential for this model to work for everyone involved.

What legal considerations must companies keep in mind during their daily huddle meetings?

Daily huddle meetings count as work time and must be documented as part of time tracking. This also applies to brief 10-minute check-ins.

If you record video huddles, you need a GDPR-compliant legal basis and must inform participants in advance. If the huddle format is used for regular performance monitoring, a company agreement may also be required.

How to Make Huddle Meetings a Permanent Part of Your Hybrid Team

A huddle meeting is only effective when time management, structure, and the facilitator's role work together seamlessly. In a hybrid work environment, a fourth factor comes into play: transparency about who is working, when, and from where. Daily check-ins help to improve the employee experience because coordination routines become reliable and transparent for everyone.

Use PULT to see where your colleagues are working

PULT shows you at any time who is in the office and who is working remotely. You can also see your colleagues' scheduled attendance and receive reports on your teams' attendance. Desk booking, room booking, visitor management, and office insights are all integrated into a single platform.

{{onpage-cta}}

Browse all resources