- 10 July 2020
Following lockdown, most office workers were forced to work from home to fight the spread of Covid-19. While it has been a long 15 weeks of finding the right work-life balance and parents taking on the extra responsibility of home schooling, recent studies have shown that 50% of UK workers find that they are more productive when working from home. 22% of people who took part in the study said they enjoyed the increased flexibility with only 37% of people now sticking to the traditional 9am-5pm working day.
Because of this, it is no surprise that companies across the globe, including big names such as Facebook and Fujitsu, have announced that working from home will now become the norm for their organisations.
All of this struck up a conversation between our team here at Thirteen Homes as we spoke about the future of our working locations and what our “dream home office” would be and look like.
While some of the team’s main concern was adding locks to their dream home office doors so that they could hide from their children, other members of the team said they would love a small work out space in their dream home office featuring a rowing machine, punch bag and exercise bike so that they could take a break and de-stress anytime during the day. Other popular ideas were speakers so they could play their favourite music to increase their motivation, coffee stations and we even had one team member suggest waiter service to provide them with hourly snacks!
“My dream home office would have a great view, a comfy chair to escape to when I’m not at the desk, Spotify playing in the background, a “proper” coffee machine, OH and a lock on the door to keep the kids out!” – Craig Taylor, Managing Director.
“My dream office would be well lit with fresh air coming in from the window, music playing in the background, a coffee machine and a treadmill or a punch bag easily accessible to de-stress. I would also have a plant which apparently lifts your mood and have a bookshelf/filing cabinet so I can be more organised.” – Andrew Dring, Land Manager.
Some of our team have already created their dream home office, including our Land Co-ordinator Lucy.
“For me, it was about creating a multi-functional and stress-free environment that I would enjoy working in. 😊
My desk is quite functional with big hidden drawers so I can tidy work away on an evening, I have a sofa by the window so that I can take time out and gaze into my garden, there’s an aromatherapy diffuser to help bring a little bit of zen, a fidget cube to help me concentrate and relieve stress, a radio for some background tunes, and no office would be complete without a plant!
There’s also as much animal therapy as I could possibly need with my two ‘four legged’ co-workers – although they’re not very ‘pawfessional’ and tend to snore during Teams calls!”
Did you know that 4 of our 9 house types at Howards Green have a dedicated home office, while our other homes have plenty of space that could be turned into a home office or working space? Our homes are perfect for your changing lifestyle, so why not look around Howards Green, learn more about the space our homes can offer and get planning your new dream home office!