Written by It’s not exactly a new phenomenon this, arguably common option, to work from home. As such, one would expect that seeing an opportunity, residential products, services, design and even homes would have started to adapt to the ever increasing wants of a swelling body of budding customers who would like to work from home. These people who are working in an Internet Business through online jobs have a requirement for an location that corresponds with their lifestyle and their work needs too.
It’s true, there are a number of products on the market that are produced for those people who Work From Home but it’s reasonable to say that the offer is scrappy and it takes a level of skill in construction, IT and ergonomics to form a suitable domestic location from which one could run an internet business. Most people only manage to offer a small amount of the facilities necessary to be comfortable and dynamic.
The brief for a domestic office set up should be largely similar to that of a normal office or corporate workspace. A resident employee requires power, data and a place to sit and a surface to work on as a bare minimum. Add into that the necessity for social interaction, ad hoc meetings, collaboration and areas for focussed working and the brief starts to look very similar.
The easy and least productive resolution to meeting these requirements is to provide a desk, seat, computer, telephone and data connection. On the face of it these pieces of kit will provide the necessary vehicle in (or on, or through) which people can deliver their output. The real question is how does one provide for the rest of the criteria and how do we use advancements in construction and IT to support the requirements for people who work in Online Jobs?
Firstly, let’s tackle the workplace itself. Does it need to be a desk? In a standard domestic situation would a desk be an appropriate piece of furniture ? Technology gives us laptops and telephone headsets and the capability to work anywhere on any fixtures. Add to that wireless printing and a web cam and really the office, as was, is now built entirely around the person in contrast to a location.
Of course, in these days of corporate responsibility, the idea of using a laptop for long periods of time would give Human Resource and Insurance teams an issue, but the truth is that what we have through technology is a new idea and what we would expect to see is new furniture solutions to solve the ergonomic issues.
Secondly, there is the issue of privacy, noise and environmental comfort. A voice conference in a house full of playing children is not conducive to productive work. Will we begin to see new homes provided with separate space for working? Possibly provided as an extension, a loft or even a stand alone unit in the garden.
Whatever the ideas the market is there already and the design industry has yet to react to it.
