Office desk follows job for life into oblivion

The office job for life has all but disappeared: now the permanent desk may be going the same way.

A company that helps employees book desks for the day and meeting rooms by the minute has become one of the UK's fastest growing by sales, with revenue up 50 per cent year on year.

Condeco chief executive Paul Statham says the individual desk is "a dead concept". He claims 80 per cent of the workforce needs to work flexibly and that "managing that has become a nightmare".

The National Audit Office recently criticised the BBC's new office in Salford for never being more than half full, decrying the waste of money.

But Mr Statham says this is a better ratio than many. His company now works for more than 500 businesses including GE and Chevron of the US.

While hot-desking is common, he said, managers often overestimate how many desks they need.

"We have found desks and meeting rooms often go unused for at least half the working day in many organisations. With office space in London costing as much as £1,698 per square metre a year, this represents a huge . . . waste."

In one instance, Condeco, found a desk that was unused for more than six months. Managers looking to save on space have sometimes hired consultants to observe desk use, asking staff who uses each one.

Some staff use tricks such as placing a bag or pair of shoes at an empty desk to hold on to space. By installing sensors, Condeco can monitor exactly how often desks are occupied. While office managers believe average utilisation is about 65 per cent it is in fact 38 per cent, with about 64 per cent at peak times, according to data from Condeco clients.

"People are very reluctant to give desks up," said Mr Statham.

But with office costs rising and companies recruiting again it was vital to use space efficiently, he said.

Condeco's systems allow online meeting room and desk booking. Microsoft's Outlook product has 80 per cent of the market internationally. Condeco says it is the biggest of its competitors.

The company also offers digital signs and locks so that only those who have booked a room can use it.

Condeco's sales have grown threefold from £3.4m in 2011 to £10.2m in 2014 and it expects to hit £15m this year. Profit for the latest financial year is £1.3m. It operates in nine countries, with offices in the UK, US, Australia and Dubai.

MEC Global, a marketing agency that works for Visa and Wm Morrison among others, is about to move to more flexible working. A client of Condeco, it is moving 700 staff from its current home to an open plan office at Sea Containers House on the Thames. Luigi Galluzzo, facilities manager, said: "We will have the same number of desks but not add any as we expand. We want to encourage people to work together."

As well as fixed desks, there will be desk areas grouped together for teams to work on projects. He said it was important to give people technological support. All have laptops that work as phones, allowing them to use the same extension at home, in the office or elsewhere.

Mr Galluzzo said it had also cut its storage space in half. But people will have lockers for personal possessions.

"They can put pictures of their family on the desk for the day. You have to take people with you and give the right support. Otherwise you get a lot of pushback."

He said he would not be relinquishing his own desk. "I am here almost every day whereas a lot of our people might not be in for days on end. But when I am on holiday someone else can use it."

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