With many companies now operating some form of hybrid working, with employees splitting time between the office and working from home, making the most of your time is vital.
For many of us, the days of having a designated desk in the office are long gone, as it's often a scramble to get the best spots (or any spot at all) with the scourge of hot-desking means it's everyone for themselves.
But if you're a Microsoft Teams user, help could unexpectedly be at hand thanks to a new update to the video conferencing service that looks to make getting a desk in the office a whole lot less painful.
Microsoft Teams desk booking
In its entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the new feature is simply labelled, "Bookable desks" - and it does pretty much exactly that.
Users will be able to reserve desks when arriving at their workplace or office by plugging in to shared desks, quickly spotting where any spaces are, hopefully letting them get online and working without any hassle.
Microsoft says the feature should also benefit IT admins, who will be able to monitor and highlight any available bookable desks in shared spaces using the Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. As well as alerting employees to free spots, admins will also be able to manage and collect data from these desks regarding usage, quiet periods or busy times, allowing for better workplace management and planning.
The feature is rolling out now to Microsoft Teams users worldwide, and will be available on the desktop platform alongside Teams and Surface devices.
The launch is the latest tool from Microsoft as it aims to ease the transition back to office working for bosses and workers alike. The company recently unveiled Microsoft Places, a new platform it hopes can help workers coordinate on the best time to come into the office, as well as enable more in-person connections.
Places also integrates desk booking with other services, such as Calendar markers to notify workers that an office space is fully booked, or when other members of your team will also be in the building that day.
