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Desk usage

Collaboration is key for enabling Smart working. This page will help you understand the best practice for navigating the space, keeping your information safe while hot desking, considering others and their health needs.

Choosing a desk

Home zones are allocated to departments and sections. Staff members are recommended to sit in their home zones, but they could also use other zones. In case of shortage of desks in a zone, home department staff members have priority on their home zone desks.

You are free to choose any desk on the floor you like. Where possible, try to use a desk in your home zone. If you are occupying a desk in a guest zone and a native colleague has nowhere else to sit in the zone, offer the desk to them. Remember, there are at least 54 touch-down spaces in collaboration areas.

Please make guest members working in other zones to feel welcome. This will help to break down silos and encourage cross-team working.

Occupying a desk

Before occupying a desk, use the sanitising material to wipe clean the desk and equipment as necessary.

Leaving your laptop (locked securely with a Kensington lock) and/or other personal items on a desk means that the desk is claimed. Do not leave a claimed desk unoccupied for more than two hours at a time.

If there is a laptop and/or personal items on the desk, it means that the desk is in use. Do not use that desk if possible. However, if you have no other choice, or need to use the desk (please talk to a colleague nearby to try and establish when the person will be returning) so you can occupy the desk for the interim. Please be prepared to vacate the desk as soon as the person using the desk returns.

Do not leave a desk unoccupied for more than two hours. If you need to leave the desk for more than two hours, clear out and vacate the desk.

Plan your day at the start of the day and consider not claiming a desk and using a touch-down space in the collaboration areas if you will spend a significant part of the day away from the desk.

While using a desk

Be secure at your desk

Do not leave valuables and confidential information lying around even for a short period of time. Use the Kensington lock provided to you to secure your laptop; lock away any other valuables or confidential items or take them (including your mobile phone) with you.

Even if you need to leave your desk for a short period of time, lock away all your valuables and confidential items, or take them with you.

When you lock and leave your laptop on a desk, take the key with you and do not leave it on the lock.

Vacating a desk

You should clean the desk using the provided sanitising material before leaving. Take all your personal belongings with you. Disconnect any keyboard and mouse and put in your locker.

Clear desk policy: When vacating a desk, clear out the desk and leave it clean! Ensure nothing is left on or around the desk belonging to you, and the desk has been wiped down if necessary, e.g. to remove coffee stains, food crumbs, etc.

Health adjustments

Some colleagues may require the use of a particular desk for health and safety reasons. In such cases, those desks will be allocated primarily for them. Clear desk policy applies to those desks like all other desks, and they need to be left completely clear and clean for the use of everyone in case the primary user is not in the office.

If a desk is identified as primarily allocated to a colleague, try to use the desk as a last resort. This should be common knowledge for and self-managed by the teams; please ask colleagues in the vicinity if not sure. Be ready to vacate the desk if the primary user claims the desk. If there is an adjustable chair, do not change its adjustments; borrow and use a standard chair where possible.

Priority allocation of a desk to a colleague may also be applicable due to technical requirements, e.g. a colleague requiring specialist equipment on the desk primarily allocated to them for their job, and the rules above equally apply.

There are several labelled spare ergonomic adjustable chairs. These are parked in the Ergonomic Chair Parking zone. These are for anyone to use who requires them. Please can you ensure that a borrowed ergonomic chair is returned to the Chair Park and the original chair is re-established at the desk.

Desk usage

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