Key Features of an Ergonomic Hoteling Workstation
As hybrid work becomes the new normal, adjustability, training, and thoughtful design can make shared office workstations safe, comfortable, and productive for everyone.
- By Carrie Taylor
- Oct 28, 2025
Hotelling has become the norm in many workplaces, since the pandemic sent everyone home in 2020. Many companies downsized their offices and now offer employees the option to come to work a few days a week, sharing a workstation with employees who come on different days. From a real estate perspective, this makes a lot of sense! However, from an ergonomics perspective, hotelling introduces some challenges.
When we do an assessment for an employee at a workstation, we can adjust everything to fit that person. We might recommend a specific chair, or raise the monitor on a stand, or recommend a specific type of mouse. In this way, we can minimize injury risk by fitting the workstation to the worker.
A hoteling workstation needs to accommodate a wide range of workers. If the screen won’t go low enough to accommodate Sue, who wears multi-focals, she is bound to get a neck ache at the end of the day. If the seat isn’t big enough for Jake, he’s going to be in pain by noon. And if the sit-stand doesn’t go low enough for Marie, she probably won’t meet her publication deadline, because she’ll be in pain all day too. Ultimately, a non-adjustable workstation makes people hurt, makes them unhappy to be there, and reduces their ability to do good work and get stuff done.
Choose adjustability to accommodate everyone
Anthropometry is an important component of ergonomics. Anthropometry refers to the collection and use of human body measurements. To accommodate 90% of the population, a desk needs to go low enough for the 5th percentile (small person) and high enough for the 95% percentile (tall person). Height is only one design parameter – a desk also needs to be deep enough to fit the legs of the tallest user, and deep enough to allow any user to move the screen to a comfortable viewing distance.
Even a desk that meets that 90% range still excludes 10% of the population for each design parameter!! There will always be a few people who are not accommodated by the furniture that you’ve chosen, even when you choose well-designed items. The goal is for these people to be an exceptions, not the rule. You can order special items when necessary; in fact, it’s a good idea to offer some small- and large-seat pan chairs, and extra tall and extra small seats, in a large office with lots of people.
Provide training
Adjustability accomplishes nothing if the employees do not know how to use the features. Offer training to workers annually, and then supplement that formal training with awareness campaigns, posters, and easy-to-follow instructions at each workstation. Do not underestimate the value of showing employees how and why to adjust their chairs, keyboards, mice, and screens.
Standardization
Making workstations as identical as possible helps to avoid disagreements (“You’re in my desk!”) More importantly, standardized workstations ensure that, no matter which desk is assigned, the employee will be familiar with the equipment and how to adjust it.
Reservation system
Workers need to know that they will not be kicked out of their desk partway through the shift. Despite your efforts to standardize, workers will want some control over where they sit with respect to the windows, how close they are to colleagues with whom they collaborate, and whether they sit in a high traffic area or a quiet zone. Setting up a reservation system allows workers a welcome measure of control over their work environment.
Good technology integration
Docking stations, charging solutions, and solid internet connection can make the difference between a good day and a bad one. To facilitate effective set up, these connections all need to work quickly and easily, EVERY TIME.
If you’re setting up hotelling workstations, please consult with a Certified Professional Ergonomist. We can save you money by ensuring that you don’t invest in furniture that’s going to cause aches, pains, and frustration.
About the Author
Carrie Taylor is the founder and principal ergonomist for Taylor’d Ergonomics Incorporated, a consulting company that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. She is a Certified Professional Ergonomist in the US and Canada. She has always been passionate about practical, hands-on, fun training. Her team has created over 100 microlearning modules for custodians, outdoor workers, drivers, industrial workers, distribution workers, and office workers. Many of these are available in their online store: Micro-learning kits.