To think a seating plan at work is like being treated as a child?

[Needtopaintmynails]

I had a seating plan throughout secondary school.

I assumed as a adult we would be allowed to sit with who we wanted at work (obvious exceptions such as if people distract each other etc).

I would think that management should be allowed to assign desk space.

Ok what about in this situation, we have a seating plan and then 2 months later we all get moved around again - for no specific reason.

I’ve been in many many office reorganisations. In every one there was a seating plan/allocation of desks. You could lobby to move if you really needed to- but unless your company is 100% hotdesks usually you’ll just get what you’re given.

I’m surprised you’re surprised- is it your first job?

Allocated desks are normal in my experience. It allows for sensible desk-sharing between part-time colleagues, and for those who need it to have base-unit specific software on their PCs, or any equipment needed to accommodate health/disability adjustments.

We always had a seating plan wherever I worked, everyone dreaded getting put in the "naught seat" under the manager's nose.

Oh OP I’ve worked in places that do that. I never ask why. Just need to get paid.

That's different needtopaintmynails.

What you are objecting to is change without warning. That reminder that you are a cog. An unimportant bit of machinery that doesn't get consulted when change is necessary is deemed necessary. That isn't valued and can be replaced on a whim by any other cog with a similar skill set.

Shit. Isn't it?

And managers sometimes do such shake ups to remind you of this fact. That you have no power or agency. And they do. Sometimes it is unintentional. These latter managers do not know what they are doing and are actually the more dangerous type. The former at least have a plan

all sorts of pods, break out zones, booths, quiet zones, collaborative areas and hot desks.

I know I’m ancient as I started work in 1970 but all the above sounds really wanky and pretentious to me. I’m so glad I have never had an office based job.

always had allocated seating/or been the person allocating. In my old job it was about keeping teams together, keeping certain people apart and having some people in places so you could easily see their screens. I do not miss those days.

Same here. It's miserable trying to do a seating plan to accommodate colleagues that can't stand each other or spend all day talking if they're sat next to each other.

I sit with my team, we do similar work and our work impacts on each other. When I started there were two available desks. I was given the “best” one and I would have picked it anyway. Next new start got the remaining desk. No point me sitting anywhere else in the building because I’d be trailing about all day to and from the desks of my team members.

I've working in a call centre and this was very common. So some people specifically wanted to sit in specific seats due to lighting/heating etc, then they used to do it newbie, experienced staff, newbie and so on. They used to rejig regularly to prevent clashes in personality or to create room for new members etc.

I work in an admin roll now on a team of about 8, the 4 managers sit together on one side of row of desks then the other 4 sit at the other end. When someone new comes into the team they sit with someone with more experience, and if an employee doesn't get along with another the team plan is shifted slightly.

I don't see it as an issue.

2 months doesn't make a difference OP! Is this your first job?

I’ve never been able to choose my own desk at work when it’s been desktop PCs, and I wouldn’t expect to. It’s work. You get sat with your team and that’s that. At my current place we have laptops and hotdesk but we’re still meant to sit in a certain part of the office with the rest of your department and you still don’t necessarily get to sit with your mates; why would you?! We sit wherever’s available really.

@AlexaAmbidextra - I can see that, but I Do like having the option of different places to sit. I can sit on a sofa or a comfy chair with my laptop on my lap, and sometimes that’s a good way to think. Or I can hide away in a booth somewhere where no one can disturb me. I can spend all day in the cafe, sit at a desk, or work remotely. If you’re judged on the work you produce rather than time spent at a desk it is quite liberating!

What you are objecting to is change without warning. That reminder that you are a cog. An unimportant bit of machinery that doesn't get consulted when change is necessary is deemed necessary. That isn't valued and can be replaced on a whim by any other cog with a similar skill set.

How right you are

Awwww how cute. I love the assumptions kids make.

To me being an adult means I dont care who I sit beside I can get along well enough with anyone.
But I do appreciate the same seat each day so I can leave some paperwork and my mug/stationery etc.

Moving every 2 months would be a bit annoying but again wouldn't bother me. There to work. I have made friends and talk to them here and there but I don't sit beside them. (Although I am also friendly with those I sit beside.)

Much better than hot desking.

I used to regularly move my team around. It wasn't a power thing, there were inevitably desks closer to me and desks further away. The desks closer to me consistently met their chargeable time targets as I was there and people tended to just stop for short chats then would get back to work rather than having long conversations. The desks further away tended to record time below target and I had complaints from other nearby departments that there was too much chatting going on. I had to move everyone pretty much quarterly (unless someone was still working well on the far away desks) to stop the chatter. It might not be a power thing, there might be that someone isn't working well somewhere.

OP we had this once, it was awful. Constantly micro managed. As soon as you got to know your colleagues on your bank of desks and build a relationship they moved you round.

I get the hot desking, the working collaboratively with your immediate team etc but this was a junior role and being treated in a controlling and infantile way.

Ok what about in this situation, we have a seating plan and then 2 months later we all get moved around again - for no specific reason.

There probably is a reason, but they can't or won't tell you about it. There are many, many reasons why they might do this. There could be a team member that needs more supervision or support and needs to be closer to the manager/experienced staff member. There could be a team member who needs more screen privacy for confidentiality. There could be a team member who has a health condition that means they need to be in a different position (e.g. away from a bright window or away from being directly underneath an air conditioning unit). The manager might want a better view of his team. Maybe a team member is irritating your manager and wants them moved away. Maybe one team member has complained about another and they need to be separated. any of these circumstances could have happened in the last two months. Maybe they just fancy a change around 🤷🏼‍♀️ who knows!

My job is space planning. After payroll accommodation is a business’s largest expense. I need to maximise useful space whilst promoting wellbeing, effectiveness etc etc etc. Whether John wants to sit by Barb cos Seb eats fish at 10.30am is about 35742 on my list of considerations

There probably is a reason, but they can't or won't tell you about it. There are many, many reasons why they might do this. There could be a team member that needs more supervision or support and needs to be closer to the manager/experienced staff member. There could be a team member who needs more screen privacy for confidentiality. There could be a team member who has a health condition that means they need to be in a different position (e.g. away from a bright window or away from being directly underneath an air conditioning unit). The manager might want a better view of his team. Maybe a team member is irritating your manager and wants them moved away. Maybe one team member has complained about another and they need to be separated. any of these circumstances could have happened in the last two months. Maybe they just fancy a change around 🤷🏼‍♀️ who knows!

To move around 22 people? Including computers and phones?

My companyh as moved to smart working, meaning hot desking really. We have a floor the team sit on and on that floor a paticular number of desks (no 1-25 for example) we can use. However out of our allocated number of desks we are free to choose any of them so today I sat in desk 1, tomorrow it could be desk 20 - depends on what is free. We also have booths, collaborative spaces and sometimes I go sit in those to get away from the desks if I need quiet time to focus.

I like have a choice of where I can sit and work.

But you are right even with hot desking most people still navigate to the same desk number every day! Then start leacing stuff on the desks when they aren't meant to - we have lockers for that.