The implementation of hot desking seems to be on the rise in recent years. With the potential for more workers to continue flexible working split between the office and home, once Coronavirus restrictions are lifted, it seems the need for shared desks may be greater than ever.
Although it sounds great in theory, a desk sharing scheme to increase office capacity and allow workers freedom and flexibility, the practicalities are sometimes questioned. How can you clear your desk at the end of every work day ready for another person? How can you work with minimal equipment? Where do you store your tools when not in the office, do you take them home? How do you restrict potential contamination?
Taking a step in the right direction, companies are responding directly to these problems and offering many options to make hotdesking successful. These range from large and more permanent fixtures, such as purpose-built locker banks and storage solutions, to technology investments to allow mobility such as individual laptops and iPads.
Here, we decided to look at ‘instant’ and easy options, namely the hot desking ‘toolbox’. A simple way to store office essentials that is sleek, portable and discreet, and available on the market today. Not only are they great for a busy office space, but could complement your home working life right now, especially if it feels like you are sharing your work space with the rest of the household. These are also great to keep your personal working tools in one place and restrict shared use in light of Covid-19.
Take a look at what we have found below.
If you have any other suggestions, please comment and let us know!
VITRA, Toolbox
(£28, available in 7 colours)
A typical looking toolbox, these organisers are small enough to fit on the edge of your desk, but have large enough ‘pockets’ to fit notebooks, phones, iPads etc. Being open, everything is easily accessible and quick to tidy away, with a useful handle to aid transportation.
We also love the muted colour pallet available to suit a modern office.
More info here
HAY, Toolbox
(Retail Price: £20 to £25 from multiple dealers, available in 2 colours)
A slightly more compact toolbox, but equally as innovative in its simplicity (we love the nifty pen tidy on the side!), this box from Hay compliments the rest of the brands contemporary and well-designed aesthetic. A very basic but handy piece of kit to keep desk space tidy, and small enough to tuck away without being too intrusive to your space.
More info here
OCEE DESIGN, Hotbox® 1
(Retail Price: £58, 5 colours available)
Easy to gather and go, these toolboxes have been designed to make agile working easy. Useful to store your everyday office essentials, the Hotbox makes it simple to stay organised and productive whilst adding a nice pop of colour to brighten up your desk. They are slightly larger than the previous options, but still small enough to fit inside a locker whilst large enough to hold more of your desk necessities.
More info here
ACCE DESIGN, Hotbox® Two
(Retail Price from: £93 plus optional extras, 10 cover colours available)
This is one of the pricier options we have found, however a much more developed concept and one with many customisable options. Styled more like a traditional briefcase, this hotbox cleverly opens out to give you full access to all equipment, with removable parts like the two included utility pots. It can hold a standard laptop and iPad, along with multiple notebooks and stationary basics, whilst becoming an integral part of desk storage when you are working. Two types of covers are available should you need to move out of the office, both available in multiple colours, and additions such as a shoulder strap and even photo frame can be purchased.
We think this is a very functional and well-designed piece of kit.
More info here
HERMAN MILLER, UBI Mobile Bag Catch
(Trade purchase only, contact us for more info)
Not strictly a toolbox, the Ubi Mobile Bag Catch offers neat desk storage to keep the space beneath your desk tidy, freeing up a clean table top. It has an adjustable shelf and bag hook, along with ample space to store office equipment to hand and personal items. This storage has the flexibility to be used on the desktop instead for a shelving style solution, or to create a temporary partition between work stations.
More info here
HERMAN MILLER, UBI Organisers
(Trade purchase only, contact us for more info)
The final consideration again strays from the initial investigation of toolboxes, but instead looks at storage in general for the office desk. We wanted to include this specific concept due to the potential personalisation and flexibility it offers through additional inserts, and careful consideration of making a desk partition useful for workers on both sides of the boundary. Although the main frame itself is not so easily portable, the trays and components within are, so it this respect it mirrors ideas of the get-up-and-go freedom associated with toolboxes.
We think it is neat, interchangeable, and a useful addition to any desk.
That concludes our top picks of hotdesking aids on the market today. As we have already mentioned, many of these can already be useful for some home working challenges you may be facing right now and then carried with you when normal work resumes.
More info here
We hope you’ve found some of these options helpful, if you would like a quote for trade prices or more info on any of these please contact us.
Contact us here
If you have any more suggestions please feel free to drop them in the comments below, we’re always keen to explore more ideas.
We’re here to help you.
Take Care.
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