Work from home is changing the way we do our jobs. More and more Americans favor it and are now building home offices to prepare for the future. Builders need to adapt to these changes and create favorable home offices for these new clients.
Before we get started on the essential elements of a home office, we should talk about how work from home affects current times.
Work at Home Statistics
Work at home is becoming the norm in the U.S, and it has already been happening before the pandemic has become. About 20% of the overall working population (about 31 million Americans) were already working at home before the pandemic started. Now, about 80% of the population is working at home. Moreover, more than half of the overall working population wants to continue working at home after the pandemic.
It seems that the entire country is favoring work at home more than working in an office space. Although arguably, this is because it’s much cheaper and more sustainable for businesses when it comes to employees, many people claim that they can save more money because they don’t need to commute to work anymore and that they can concentrate more while working at home.
Suffice to say that our builders in the industry are plagued by dozens of jobs that are asking for renovations from work-at-home employees. Although working at home, success varies greatly, and we will be discussing the drivers of these successes when it comes to the design surrounding it. So once a client asks you to cater for their work-at-home renovations, you exactly know what to do.
Drivers of Success
Location of Office
The first thing you should consider is the work location at the home office. Many people might want to build it in an extra room, but that might not always be the best option. Empty rooms require a lot more work, and more work can equal more costs for your clients.
Moreover, if the room is next to social areas of the household, such as the living room, this can disrupt workflow. As a trusted home improvement contractor, you also have to consider the foundation behind the renovation and whether the home can handle specific changes. You certainly don’t want to cause foundational issues during the renovation.
All of these play a significant factor in the home office renovation. There are two reliable options for the location of the office, the first of which is the attic, and the second is the garage.
Attic
The attic is one of the best places you can recommend to your client because it’s away from any socialization areas in the home, and many attics in the US are spacious enough to handle any renovation issues without causing foundational problems. However, make sure to make the attic a lot more accessible. Feel free to suggest building a permanent staircase to the attic.
Garage
If your client is on a budget and doesn’t want to change the design of their home drastically, then converting the garage is the best suggestion you can give to them. The garage is already spacious enough for a home office, and it doesn’t require a lot of work to convert it. All you have to consider is changing the tiling and moving a couple of furniture into the garage, and they should be ready to go.
Mitigating Distractions
The next thing you should suggest is to mitigate distractions from the office. There are various ways you can do this, the first of which is to soundproof the office.
Soundproofing the home office is one of the best options to mitigate distractions coming from inside the house. If your client is adamant about converting a room near to the socialization area of the home, then this becomes vital to their productivity.
Enabling Productivity
Once you’ve renovated the room, it’s time to suggest ways you can enable productivity. You can start by painting the room with brighter colors.
Brighter colors have been related to better productivity among employees. Furthermore, it has been known to stimulate certain creative juices from people. Another suggestion you should make is to open up the room for more natural lighting. It’s another element that has been related to better productivity from employees.
Personal Experience
Lastly, the personal experience of the client can be the main determinant of their success in working at home. The work from the home survey has found that the person’s overall self-discipline and their experience with work at home largely depend on their success in this setup. So as a contractor, you can only do so much with your renovation.
Work at home is growing, and there is a dire need for builders to renovate homes to accommodate it. By following the suggestions, you should create a good home office for your clients.
