Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to theorize the tensions of hot-desking. Moving beyond its surface-level effects, we explain its complex impact on employee well-being and organizational conflict.
Design/methodology/approach: Using a multi-platform netnographic approach, we analyzed unsolicited discussions from online communities to capture diverse, authentic experiences across Eastern and Western contexts.
Findings: Grounded in technology affordance and constraints theory (TACT), our central finding is that hot-desking's affordances and constraints are dynamically co-produced. The organizational affordance of space efficiency is directly experienced by employees as a constraint of spatial insecurity and resource deprivation. This core tension fuels emergent social conflicts, such as senior staff “claiming” desks, as individuals seek stability.
Originality/value: Our primary contribution is a process model explaining how hot-desking's dual outcomes emerge in practice. We advance theory by demonstrating that potential negative consequences, from potential workplace bullying to reduced well-being and working capacities, are structural outcomes of the core tension between organizational affordances and individual constraints, despite the affordance of space efficiency and exposure to different co-workers. This reframes the problem from one of individual misbehavior to one of socio-material design. Practically, we argue that effective governance requires managers to address this tension, not merely enforce surface-level policies, thus paving the way for more effective workplace strategies in digital settings.
Keywords
Digital work environment, Hot-desking, Qualitative study
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
E-ISSN
17587409
ISSN
17410398
Publication Title
Journal of Enterprise Information Management
Publisher
Emerald
School
School of Business and Law
RAS ID
101937
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
1
Last Page
27
Recommended Citation
Au, C. H., Yue, L., Gao, S., & Cheng, G. (2026). From flexibility to friction: Intended and unintended consequences of hot-desking in workplaces. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-01-2026-0092