Desk sharing explained simply: With tips and solutions

Up to 50% of office space is unused every day because employees are working from home. With workplace sharing, there are fewer unused desks and more space for what is really needed.

By Isolde Van der Knaap
0 min reading
October 22, 2025
February 25, 2026
Desk sharing explained simply: With tips and solutions

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Desk Sharing – TL;DR

  • Desk sharing reduces the number of fixed individual workstations and uses office space on an as-needed basis for focus, team, and meeting zones.
  • Sharing desks reduces operating and equipment costs, scales with growth, and promotes cross-departmental exchange.
  • Success factors for desk sharing include standardized equipment, binding bookings with no-show rules, clean desks, and a 5–10% capacity buffer based on measured utilization.

What is Desk Sharing?

Desk sharing refers to the use of the same office workspaces by several people. A workspace is no longer permanently assigned to a single person, but is occupied by different employees as needed.

The aim of desk sharing is to reduce the amount of space required for individual workstations. Since many workstations are unused on a daily basis due to the high proportion of employees working from home, it makes sense for employers to reduce the number of desks available rather than leaving these spaces unused. The space freed up in this way can then be used for other purposes.

  • Shared workstations are designed to be neutral and are not individually furnished.
  • Employees choose or book workstations depending on their needs and attendance times. 
  • Order, cleanliness, and data protection are ensured by common rules. 

Distinction between desk sharing and other terms: 

  • Desk sharing is often used synonymously with Workplace sharing.
  • Hot Desking: The equivalent of desk sharing in the US and UK. 
  • Coworking: Use of workspaces as a service by different companies or self-employed individuals.

What are the benefits of desk sharing?

Desk sharing allows office space to be used more efficiently and creates room for new ways of working. You can use the space you regain to benefit your team in the form of modern break areas, spaces for collaborative project work, meeting rooms, or phone booths. 

  • Put underused space to good use: If your employees no longer come to the office every day, many desks remain empty. With desk sharing, you can use this space for other purposes, such as breakout rooms, project work, or meeting places for short discussions.
  • Aligning the office with actual usage: Instead of reserving workspaces for maximum occupancy, you can plan based on real data on office attendance. This allows you to avoid permanently empty areas and use the available office space much more efficiently.
  • New contacts between departments: When your employees regularly sit at different desks, they encounter colleagues from other teams more often. This creates exchange across departmental boundaries and promotes better understanding among each other.
  • Easy scalability in case of changes: If your company grows or project teams are formed at short notice, you don't have to rent additional space immediately. New employees can easily find a place in the existing structure, as desk sharing is designed to accommodate changing staff anyway.
  • Reduced ancillary costs: Fewer workstations mean less furniture, less cleaning, and a leaner technical infrastructure. This reduction is directly reflected in operating costs.

What are the disadvantages of desk sharing?

Disadvantages of desk sharing at work arise from a lack of planning and acceptance within your team: a shortage of workspaces during peak times, loss of a permanent workspace, additional effort required for setup, and hygiene issues. However, with good organization, these issues can be easily managed.

Lack of workspaces during peak times

When more employees show up at the office than there are workspaces available, this inevitably leads to frustration and delays.

Desk sharing best practice: In the PULT desk booking system, your employees reserve their preferred workspace in advance. This ensures that their workspace is available when they arrive, even before they start their commute. In the event of no-shows, the seats are released again after a period of time specified by you.

Loss of a fixed workplace

Many people identify with their desk. Having their own space conveys stability and control. When this anchor is missing, a feeling of alienation can arise.

Desk sharing best practice: Offer lockers and cubbies to complement shared desks. Personal work equipment and private items can be stored securely in them. The initial feeling of loss also quickly fades into the background when the new spaces actually benefit employees and enhance their everyday work.

Additional effort at the start of the working day

Without a fixed workplace, the day begins with setting up the workplace: adjusting the table and seat height, connecting the laptop to monitors, and setting up the mouse and keyboard.

Desk sharing best practice: Standardize the equipment at all workstations. The same monitors, identical docking stations or monitor adapters, and easily adjustable furniture ensure that a workstation is ready for use in just a few simple steps. Include in your clean desk policy that workstations must be returned to their original state after use so that they are ready for the next person.

Hygiene and order at shared workstations

Frequent user changes increase the demands on cleanliness. Keyboards, table surfaces, and chairs are subject to greater wear and tear.

Desk sharing best practice: Include cleaning measures in your desk sharing policy. Trash, food scraps, or drink stains can be quickly removed with cleaning wipes provided. Supplement this with regular professional cleaning, which is included in the building service cycle.

How do I calculate the number of shared workstations required?

The most important key figure in desk sharing is the desk sharing quote. It shows how many employees share a workspace in mathematical terms.

The desk sharing ratio is calculated by dividing the number of workspaces by the number of employees.

A value of 1.0 means that each employee has their own space. If the ratio is 0.6, for example, an average of around 1.7 employees share one desk.

First, you should determine how many employees are actually in the office at the same time. The most reliable way to do this is to observe the office over a period of two to four weeks. It is not the average that is important, but the maximum number of employees present at the same time.

Tip: In the desk sharing software PULT Presence, you can track your employees' attendance as soon as their laptop or smartphone connects to the company Wi-Fi. This happens automatically, without any effort on the part of your employees, and works with your existing Wi-Fi network.
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Dicsover PULT Presence

The maximum attendance determines the number of workstations required. Take into account fluctuations during vacation periods or due to field staff who work in the office on an irregular basis. Start by planning a buffer of 10% and monitor utilization on an ongoing basis. The data is automatically processed for you in the office insights in the desk sharing tool PULT.

This gives you reliable values that you can use to further develop your space planning. One goal may be to reduce the number of individual workstations as much as possible and observe which other areas are in greater demand.

Making desk sharing viable with PULT

Desk sharing is a response to changing work patterns among your employees, rising operating costs, and the desire for modern office organization.

  • Office space is used more efficiently instead of standing empty.
  • Employees are given rooms and zones that suit their current tasks.
  • Companies gain more planning flexibility without incurring additional space costs.

For desk sharing to work, you need a few rules, well-designed equipment, and, above all, a desk sharing system that organizes the allocation of workspaces for your employees fairly.

  • Workspace booking in PULT: Make binding reservations for desks, rooms, and zones, directly integrated into Slack and MS Teams.
  • Weekly planner: Overview of who is in the office and when, to schedule team days.
  • Office evaluation: Reliable data on utilization, which you can use to secure planning and desk sharing quotas.
  • Parking spaces & visitor management: Easily organize parking spaces and guest bookings.

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FAQ

Have questions?

How big should the buffer be when calculating workspaces?

In addition to the maximum simultaneous attendance, a safety buffer of around 5 to 10% is recommended. This will help you avoid shortages on days when more employees come to the office than usual.

How do I deal with employees who need a fixed workspace?

For health or work organization reasons, you should make exceptions, for example by assigning permanent seats. This shows that you care and increases acceptance of the model. Reasons may include physical characteristics or specific hardware requirements, such as high-performance video editing computers.

How can personal belongings be stored in a shared desk model?

The best way is with lockers, cubbies, or rolling containers. This gives employees a fixed place for personal items or work materials without blocking workstations.

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How can I prevent seats from being reserved but not used?

Establish clear booking rules and a cancellation policy up to a certain point in time. PULT automatically releases reserved but unused seats after a waiting period.

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.

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Visitor Management

Organizing an Event: Checklist, Permits & Legalities 2026

If you organize an event, you now bear more legal responsibility than you did just a few years ago. New requirements for safety documentation, GDPR obligations regarding participant data, and changes to liability rules mean that event planning has become a task where relying on an outdated checklist can quickly become costly.

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Organizing an Event: The Basics

  • Public events involving a large number of people are subject to a require a permit in Germany: Depending on the state and the type of event, applications must be submitted to the relevant authority at least 12 weeks in advance
  • Since the stricter requirements took effect in 2025/2026, event organizers must actively maintain their safety documentation: In the event of a claim, anyone who cannot provide complete documentation bears the burden of proof, regardless of whether there was any fault
  • The GDPR applies to participant data when organizing an event, and specifically to event photos and video recordings as well: Without explicit consent or a documented exception, substantial fines may be imposed.
  • Event management feature: With PULT, companies can coordinate corporate events, room scheduling, and attendee management all within a single system, directly integrated with Personio, HiBob, MS Teams, and Slack.

What permits do I need before organizing an event?

As soon as you start planning an event in Germany, you’ll encounter a complex web of regulations that vary depending on the state, the type of event, and the number of attendees. The key regulations include the Public Gathering Venues Ordinance, GEMA, and guidelines from the public order office.

  • Your city or town’s Public Order Office: The first point of contact for public events. The Public Order Office generally approves the event and coordinates with other authorities as needed. Private corporate events with a fixed guest list held at an approved venue do not require a separate permit from this office
  • Department of Streets and Green Spaces (also known as the Department of Civil Engineering or the Department of Urban Planning, depending on the city): You can apply here for a special use permit for events on streets, squares, or in parks. The exact name of the agency varies by municipality. The quickest way to find the right contact is to search for “special use permit for events” on your municipality’s city portal. Many municipalities now bundle this application in the Servicekonto Deutschland
  • Business Licensing Office: If you sell food or beverages, you need a temporary permit under the restaurant regulations of the respective state. This is a separate application, independent of the event permit.

Three additional points that often come up too late in the planning process:

  • GEMA: You must register music that includes GEMA-licensed tracks in advance at gema.de, whether performed live or played from a recording. The fees depend on the size of the event and the venue area.
  • Regulation on Public Gathering Places (VStättVO): For events with 200 or more people, the relevant building authority will verify whether the venue is licensed as a public gathering place. Clarify this in advance with the venue’s landlord, because as the organizer, you are jointly liable if the operating permit is missing or has expired
  • Fire Department and Public Health Department: For events featuring stage setups or food service, the Public Order Office often requires a fire safety plan and a hygiene plan. Make sure to get written confirmation that this applies to your event.

For all applications for which your municipality offers an online portal, the following applies: The Servicekonto Deutschland consolidates many of these forms. Start the application process at least 12 weeks before the event.

What has changed for events as a result of new safety regulations and the reversal of the burden of proof?

DGUV 115-002 sets forth safety requirements for event and production technology and applies to all events where technical equipment such as stages, lighting, or sound systems is set up. Starting in 2025/2026, authorities and courts expect event organizers to actively maintain their safety documentation rather than compiling it only upon request.

This means that risk assessments, evacuation plans, protocols for briefing service providers, and participant lists must be fully documented. If you cannot present complete documentation in the event of a claim, the burden of proof falls on you. A structured documentation system in place before the event should therefore be considered a requirement that you must comply with.

How do I comply with the GDPR when organizing an event?

As soon as you register participants, you are processing personal data and therefore need a legal basis under Article 6 of the GDPR. For corporate events, this basis is generally derived from legitimate interest. In this case, the data may not be used for purposes beyond the event and must be deleted after 90 days at the latest. The only exception to the deletion period is tax-related retention requirements.

Things get more complicated when it comes to event photos and video recordings:

  • Portraits and identifiable individuals: Publication is prohibited without express consent, even in the case of seemingly harmless group photos
  • Panoramic photos of large crowds: In such cases, a legitimate interest may apply, provided that individuals are not recognizable.
  • Online events and recordings: If you record events or meetings , you must inform participants in advance and obtain their consent. Starting a recording without prior notice is a violation of the GDPR.

When registering, provide a consent form that explicitly asks for permission to take photos and record videos. The same rules apply to hybrid events—that is, formats in which some participants join remotely—with the addition of recording requirements under data protection law.

Organizing an Event Step by Step: The Checklist

What tools can help with organizing events?

When it comes to organizing your event, three categories of tools cover the most important planning areas: tools for checklists and risk analysis, online portals for submitting official applications, and office management platforms for room scheduling and attendee management.

  • Checklists, AI: Use our event checklist and consult an LLM (Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, etc.) to research the local and municipal requirements or guidelines specific to your state, as these cannot be summarized in a single, universal list.
  • Online permit portals: The Servicekonto Deutschland and municipal application portals allow users to submit permit applications via browser-based forms. However, availability varies by state.
  • Office management platforms with event features: A direct link between event planning, room management, and attendee management saves you the hassle of back-and-forth coordination.

PULT combines room booking, guest management, and catering into a single platform. You can book rooms, filter by capacity and amenities such as projectors or whiteboards, reserve areas on the interactive office map for your event, and add catering directly during the booking process. 

  • Rooms, catering, parking, and guest workstations—all in one booking.
  • Guests check in at the kiosk, and the host immediately receives a notification in Slack or Microsoft Teams.
  • At the reception desk, guests sign NDAs, photo release forms and receive a visitor badge and privacy notices.
  • In an emergency, PULT generates an Emergency Export of all currently present individuals at the push of a button.
  • The weekly planner shows in advance how many employees will be in the office on the day of the event, so that room planning and space utilization can be coordinated.

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Office Insights

Workforce Analytics: Definition, Key Metrics, and EU-Compliant Implementation by 2026

Workforce analytics refers to the analysis of personnel data to manage headcount, productivity, and workforce planning. HR teams use this method to support personnel decisions with data. Starting in August 2026, the EU AI Regulation will tighten requirements for AI-powered HR analytics and mandate specific structures.

Learn More

Workforce Analytics: The Basics

  • Workforce analytics is the quantitative analysis of HR data—such as turnover, absenteeism, headcount, and office utilization—to derive actionable recommendations for workforce planning.
  • Key metrics for workforce planning analytics include turnover rate, time-to-hire, absenteeism rate, office attendance, and team-level productivity metrics.
  • The EU AI Regulation classifies many HR analytics systems as high-risk AI starting in August 2026, imposing obligations regarding disclosure, human oversight, and data protection impact assessments.
  • PULT provides the data foundation for workforce analytics in hybrid teams—including attendance, desk utilization, and room bookings—and thus complements traditional HRIS systems such as Personio or HiBob.

What is workforce analytics, and how does it differ from people analytics?

Workforce Analytics focuses on the quantitative aspects of the workforce. It centers on headcount, productivity, turnover, and workforce structure in medium-term planning. People Analytics takes this a step further and also examines behavior, engagement, and collaboration based on qualitative data. HR Reporting, on the other hand, provides only retrospective reports without a forecasting component.

workforce analytics

In day-to-day work, these two areas are closely intertwined. When you implement your own workforce analytics, you create the data foundation for people analytics and the overarching workplace management.

Which metrics are suitable for workforce analytics?

Workforce Analytics uses metrics such as turnover rate, time-to-hire, absenteeism rate, office utilization, headcount trends, and others, which are regularly collected and analyzed. Together, these metrics provide an overview of how the workforce is evolving and which areas of the company are over- or under-staffed.

What tools are suitable for workforce analytics?

Workforce analytics tools can be divided into three layers. An HRIS layer as the data core (Personio, HiBob, Workday), an analytics layer for evaluation (Visier, Tableau, supplementary HRIS modules), and an office layer for attendance and space data in hybrid setups. The right combination depends on company size, data architecture, and EU compliance status.

When making your selection, consider the following five points:

  • Hosting region: EU hosting with a data center in Germany or elsewhere in Europe.
  • API Capability: Interfaces with HRIS, time tracking, and office management systems to eliminate data silos
  • EU AI Act Status: The provider documents whether and how its tool falls under the category of high-risk AI
  • Level of detail: Customizable KPIs and freely configurable dashboards
  • Office database: Attendance data, room and workstation reservations as well as visitor management
Tip: PULT Workplace Analytics includes this office layer and feeds attendance data, desk utilization, and room bookings into your workforce analytics pipeline, which can be combined with Personio or HiBob.

What does the EU AI Regulation 2026 require of HR analytics systems?

According to Annex III of the EU AI Regulation, an HR analytics system is considered high-risk AI as soon as it automatically supports personnel decisions. These include recruitment, promotion, termination, and performance evaluation. As a result, many workforce analytics functions are subject to strict requirements as soon as algorithms independently generate recommendations for or against individuals.

What requirements will apply to HR analytics systems as of August 2, 2026?

The high-risk classification gives rise to four key obligations for new systems:

  • Risk Management and Technical Documentation in accordance with Articles 9 through 11 of the EU AI Regulation
  • Human oversight for every decision involving personal data, not just at a later stage
  • Data Protection Impact Assessment pursuant to Article 35 of the GDPR, plus a Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment pursuant to Article 27 of the EU AI Act
  • Co-determination by the works council pursuant to § 87(1)(6) of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) in connection with any introduction or adjustment

How can I ensure that my workforce analytics setup remains compliant?

You can ensure compliance by clarifying your data architecture and processes before purchasing a tool. This involves five key points:

  • EU Hosting: Servers located in the EU, documented data processing.
  • Purpose limitation: You must document in writing which data you are analyzing and for what purpose.
  • Human final decision: No algorithm makes the final decision regarding hiring, termination, or promotion.
  • Disclosure: You proactively inform employees about what data is collected and how it is analyzed.
  • Involve the works council: A works council agreement fulfills the requirement for employee participation.

How to Build a Future-Proof Workforce Analytics System

Workforce Analytics provides you with a quantitative overview of your workforce, from headcount forecasts and turnover to office utilization.

Starting in the fall of 2026, the EU AI Regulation will require specific frameworks for high-risk AI, documentation, and human oversight. With PULT, you can meet these requirements while still gaining reliable data for your workforce planning and site strategy.

  • PULT Workplace Analytics provides real-time attendance, desk, and room data as a data source for workforce analytics.
  • Native integrations with Personio, HiBob, Microsoft Teams, and Slack, so all your HR data is centralized in one place.
  • EU hosting and ISO 27001 certification as the basis for your GDPR and EU AI Act documentation.

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Office Insights

Micromanagement: Consequences, Legal Risks, and the Path to Controlled Delegation

Micromanagement refers to a leadership style in which supervisors closely monitor their team’s tasks and constantly intervene. The consequences range from demotivation and resignations to legal risks arising from organizational negligence. However, by reducing micromanagement and delegating effectively, leaders can improve team performance while simultaneously reducing their own liability risk.

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Micromanagement: The Basics

  • Micromanagement is a leadership style characterized by excessive attention to detail and constant interference in the team's tasks. Typical consequences include demotivation, a decline in personal responsibility, and above-average turnover rates.
  • Signs of a micromanaging boss include constant status updates, nitpicking over routine phrasing, requiring everyone to be CC'd on every email, and approval loops for trivial decisions.
  • Micromanagement carries legal risks because unclear responsibilities can lead to organizational negligence, and excessive monitoring of employees may violate § 26 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).

PULT is an all-in-one office management software solution that provides executives with a data-driven overview of hybrid teams through Office Insights, desk booking, and visitor management, without the need to micromanage operational details.

What is micromanagement, and how can you tell if you or your boss is doing it?

Micromanagement is a leadership style in which supervisors constantly monitor their employees’ performance and constantly interfere in their decision-making. Engaged leadership is clearly different, as it sets clear expectations for the outcome but leaves the path to achieving it open.

From an employee's perspective, the following patterns become particularly evident when a supervisor engages in micromanagement:

  • Routine work is proofread and the wording is fine-tuned—something that should have been done long ago
  • You'll be copied on every email
  • Independent decisions are subsequently called into question
  • We receive several status requests every week, even though clear deliverables have been agreed upon

If you are a manager yourself, ask yourself whether the following statements apply to you:

  • You systematically proofread your team's documents before they leave the office
  • You have routine decisions notified to you before they are implemented
  • You step in whenever tasks aren't handled the way you would handle them yourself
  • You ask for status updates more often than your team can deliver results

If you answer "yes" to several of these questions, it's a clear sign that your leadership style has slipped into micromanagement.

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What are the consequences of micromanagement for the team and the company?

The consequences of micromanagement affect both the team and the company:

  • Increased willingness to resign and rising turnover
  • Declining personal responsibility and innovative spirit within the team
  • The risk of burnout among employees is constantly monitored
  • Poorer strategic decisions because managers are bogged down in operational details
  • High follow-up costs due to recruiting, onboarding, and knowledge loss

Studies on willingness to quit, such as the Gallup Engagement Index, consistently show that micromanagement is one of the most common reasons for changing jobs. In addition to the human and economic consequences, the legal risks carry particularly serious weight for German companies.

What legal risks does micromanagement pose for managers?

The legal risks associated with micromanagement are rarely mentioned in HR practice, but they are substantial and affect three areas.

Organizational failure resulting from micromanagement

When a manager makes all decisions on their own, lines of responsibility become blurred. If damage occurs, it is difficult to determine clearly who failed to fulfill which duty. The case law of the Federal Court of Justice requires that tasks, authority, and responsibility be clearly assigned. Micromanagement undermines precisely this requirement.

Employee Data Protection under Section 26 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG)

Close monitoring of employees, such as continuous screen monitoring or constant activity tracking, may violate employee data protection laws. Monitoring measures must be proportionate and based on a specific reason.

Delegation as a form of liability protection

A properly documented delegation of authority protects the manager in the event of a claim. Three steps ensure its legal validity:

  • Assign the written assignment , including specific expectations regarding the outcome.
  • Specify the person’s authority explicitly—that is, which decisions they are authorized to make on their own.
  • Agree on reporting milestones at which interim results will be reviewed.

What is the opposite of micromanagement?

The opposite of micromanagement is controlled delegation, often referred to as empowerment or trust-based leadership. In this approach, the manager transfers responsibility for results to employees and no longer controls the process, but rather the agreed-upon output.

  • Clear agreement on objectives with measurable results
  • A defined scope of decision-making within which employees are allowed to act independently
  • Agreed reporting points instead of constant monitoring

This approach is an absolute must, especially in hybrid teams. When managing remotely, you must shift your focus from presence to results, because you no longer have the ability to visually monitor your team.

Moving Away from Micromanagement: What Should a Manager Do?

Overcoming micromanagement is a process that starts with the leader. If you decide to break this habit, these five steps will guide you toward lasting change:

  1. Conduct a self-assessment: Identify your personal triggers. Do you step in because you’re afraid of making mistakes, because you need to be in control, or because you don’t trust the team’s technical expertise?
  2. Categorize tasks: Sort by importance and urgency. Keep broad, strategic issues on your plate; assign all operational tasks clearly.
  3. Define expectations in writing: Describe the desired outcome, but not the path to get there. This will prevent your team from having to be corrected later on for deviating from the plan.
  4. Establish a reporting schedule: Agree on regular check-ins instead of ad hoc inquiries. Weekly or biweekly meetings replace the constant back-and-forth about status updates.
  5. Use tools to stay organized: Software that shows you at a glance who is working where, when office hours are scheduled, and when teams are meeting eliminates the need to constantly ask around.

How to Lead Your Hybrid Team with PULT Without Micromanaging

Micromanagement is a leadership style that comes at a high cost. It drives good employees to quit, undermines the quality of decision-making within the team, and creates legal risks related to organizational negligence and data protection.

The solution lies in controlled delegation. Clear goal agreements, defined decision-making authority, and agreed-upon reporting points replace constant micromanagement. In hybrid teams, the right tools help ensure that you maintain an overview without micromanagement. With PULT, you can keep track of everything without micromanagement:

  • Real-time overview without having to ask: With PULT Presence, you can see on a digital office map who is currently on-site and who is working remotely. Check-in happens automatically via the company Wi-Fi, so you don't have to ask anyone.
  • Weekly planning right in your calendar: Scheduled days in the office and working from home appear in Outlook and Google Calendar, so you don't have to track status emails. Team days can be scheduled fairly and proactively based on this information.
  • Answers at the touch of a button instead of endless back-and-forth: The AI assistant instantly answers questions like “Who’s in the office tomorrow?” via a simple chat interface. No group emails, no follow-ups, no micromanagement.

Automatic synchronization with your HR system: Vacation and absence data from Personio or HiBob is automatically imported into PULT. You can plan team events based on up-to-date information, rather than manually collecting availability data from team members.

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