Hot desks - where to keep personal items

[Oriono]

I'm leading on an office move that has unexpectedly been forced on us, and as we're working towards hybrid working, we're having less desks and will be hot desking.

But I'm concerned about where staff are going to keep their personal items - mugs, hand cream, pain killers, tampons, you know the stuff - after going from a situation where everyone is used to their own space.

We won't have room for lockers, trays have been suggested but that also feels a bit primary school-ish.

Has anyone seen any good solutions to this?

Thanks

I am the main user of my desk (as in 98% of the time) but I don't put any of this stuff in my drawers. Paracetamol, personal items etc in my bag. Thermos, spare teabags and lunch in my pack lunch bag. There are cloak hooks in the staff room where I could leave a scarf or cardigan but I just wear them mostly.

I don't have a personal mug, just use the ones available in the kitchen.

Hand cream, etc I have in my handbag.

I always thought hot desking was for people who are rarely in the office.

I wish, we're all hotdesking now, regardless of how often we are in.

And to PPs taking about desk drawers, none of those available to OP I think.

Where I used to work before WFH everyone had a plastic lidded sturdy box big enough for A4 notebook/ring binder, mug, jar of coffee and stationary, and it had your name on it and was placed in a big hallway cupboard at the end of each shift. So you'd walk in, grab your box, find a desk, then at the end of the day pack it up and back in the cupboard.

mugs, hand cream, pain killers, tampons, you know the stuff

Other than mugs, the rest of that stuff can easily fit in your handbag or laptop bag.
Mug in kitchen surely.

I have recently been clearing out lockers of people who are now wfh and who can't be arsed to come and collect their stuff. I can tell you it's mostly a load of crap.

That's the sort of stuff you keep in a handbag, surely?

All that stuff you mention apart from the mugs can surely just stay in your bag, and if you get a travel mug that could too right? I have to say I've never stored tampons or painkillers at work, that kind of stuff has always been in my handbag. OP do you work somewhere where people aren't allowed to keep their handbags at their desk?

Agree with others.
I've not had my own desk for years.
It is a right pain and very unpopular, but the things you mention aren't the issue - you'd just have them in your work bag (except the mug which usually lives in the kitchen or wherever it is you make your drinks).

We have lockers with a little caddy inside that you can take out your locker and stick on your desk. Works fine!

We also have a lot of cleaners and anti bac wipes and spray. I'd say that was important too!

I used a felt caddy- they're the size of a large handbag with open and closed pockets. If you struggle to carry heavy items, a trolley like this

I am public sector and nothing is provided, not even dish soap, and we're not allowed to leave anything in the kitchen.

We're moving to hot desking and I don't think they've thought it through.

I already used to take a travel mug and water bottle for the day and wash them at home but I don't really want to have to carry tea bags, coffee and milk as well as my laptop and charger, plus my lunch, in my backpack on the train.

DH has worked in fancier hot desking situations, he still hated it but at least they provided all cups, drinks, cutlery and crockery, plus a dishwasher, soap etc.

I don't want to leave much at work but it would be helpful to have even a small drawer!

We have small drawers - just big enough for A4 paper , can't keep a mug there - keep those in the "kitchen" or you take it home

(NHS mental health nurse )

No washing up liquid is supplied where I work. No dishwasher, either. We still have kettles & milk deliveries restrated, so that's nice. We weren't allowed to refill bottles at tap either for a while (Covid risk, they insisted). For some strange reason there is a sponge for wiping up spills. Obviously the sponge could never be rinsed with anything more sterilising than tap water. But that manky sponge is not as dodgy as refilling a water bottle.

I have a little suitcase on wheels. Bit of a pain but easier than carrying a bag with heavy laptop, charger, mouse, cardigan, tea, mug etc!

Our recommended car park is a muddy hilly field half a mile from work. Not good using little suitcase on wheels.

Agree with PPs, the personal stuff you mention is for handbags. Mug in kitchen.
I think you should only have to provide storage if people have a lot of work stuff to store. I don't mean a pen & pencil which can also go in a bag, more like heavy bulky files, papers etc. which they shouldn't have to carry in and out every day.
Do you have any wall space you could hang over head cupboards on? Or we used to have one large drawer in a shared cabinet

We have communal mugs and I don't leave personal things at work - that's what Gand bags are for.

Anyway I keep those things in my handbag for non work times

Hotdesking is normal at my workplace. Most people commute by public transport. I use a flask, not a mug, which I bring from home every day. Equally, I bring my lunch too. The other things you mention you’d just put in your bag, surely. I have a small backpack to carry everything.

I’m a teacher (i do have a desk), but wouldn’t keep things like pain killers in it just in case a child found them. They live in my handbag with handcream, tampons etc. Mugs live in the kitchen.

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to try to have to find space for some small lockers.

I think the problem is that for years people have had their own desk, they have a lockable pedestal with their own stuff in it, and being city centre, most people travel by bus or tram, or walk or cycle. This move has been somewhat forced on us after a number of years in the same place, so some are feeling quite upset anyway, and I'm aware that suddenly asking them to carry all of their stuff in, when previously they could keep it at work, is going to unsettle them even more.

It's good that you're thinking about how this change will affect people OP. It might seem small to people who are used to it, but the little practicalities of life are important in baseline satisfaction.
It'll take me a while to get used working at a different desk every day (no block booking the same one on our new system). And only having a tiny locker that has to be emptied at the end of every week.

I used to hot desk and I had a plastic box with wheels and a pull-out handle and a lid with a photo of my DC taped inside. It went in the cupboard at the end of my shift. It was fucking awful not having my own space though! I felt so disengaged and temporary.

Handbags .....mugs in the kitchen....this is how it works in my office

Luckily we have drawers, as I'd struggle otherwise since I walk to work and am already fairly heavily laden with school bags etc on the first half of the walk. I would keep things like hand cream, painkillers etc in a handbag but I'd have a mug, emergency snacks, my blanket and laptop in my drawers (I already have a computer setup at home). The blanket is super necessary since the windows are open due to covid and it is freezing - I have chilblains from it already!