A home office is a room or space within a person’s home used for business or official tasks. The number of people working from home either part-time or full-time has increased tremendously over the past few years. In this piece, we are going to look at home office design ideas.
But before we start talking about home office design ideas, we need to understand why home offices have become popular.
First, thousands of self-employed professionals like graphic designers, web developers, writers, and digital marketing consultants can comfortably conduct almost all their businesses at home.
Secondly, many employees with 9-5 jobs conduct their businesses at home occasionally. A home office enables them to save transport money and avoid wasting time in traffic during rush hours.
The Pandemic and the Rise of Home Offices in 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise in 2020. The deadly virus didn’t show any signs of slowing down as days, weeks, and months passed.
The economy took a hit, many businesses collapsed, and thousands of employees were laid off. Companies that survived had to find a way to stay afloat. One effective and safe strategy was to allow non-essential workers to set up home offices and the others to work from home part-time.
Initially, only a few businesses adopted this tactic, but after a while, hundreds followed suit. Today, telecommuting is the new normal.
The Work-From-Home Setup in 2021 Onwards
Businesses around the world have put social distancing measures in place and made it mandatory for anyone on the premises to wear masks. But working from home is still one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
Benefits of a home office include:
- Increased Productivity
A Stanford study on 16,000 workers revealed that working from home boosted productivity by 13%. Employees making more calls per minute because of the quiet and conducive home environment contributed 4%. Evidently, many workers are less motivated at their workplaces.
- Companies Save More
When the pandemic was at its peak, many people lost their jobs, and some were forced to take pay cuts. By allowing all or some of their employees to work home, companies saved on costs like utilities, rent, and refreshments.
- Employees Spend Less
This is one of the main benefits of working at home. An employee saves cash that would have been spent daily on transport, food, and other small expenses. Considering a large part of the population has been struggling financially, most employees embraced the idea of working from home.
That being said, there are disadvantages of working from home. The first is procrastination -debating whether to finish that TV series you’ve been following on Netflix or complete an official task.
Boredom can also reduce your productivity, considering you’re alone on most days. Lastly, you may lack office equipment such as a good desk or high-speed internet.
Home Office Design Ideas
A functional and distraction-free home office improves your performance. Here are some great home office design ideas:
- Identify the equipment needed for your office setup – desk and chair, a high-performance computer, printer, or tools specific to your industry.
- Set up the office in a room or space that receives adequate natural light to avoid straining your eyes during the day. Consider acquiring a desk lamp to improve your focus.
- Ensure that the space you choose isn’t cluttered and if it is, declutter it.
- Consider adding some colour to your office space. For instance, studies show that blue is excellent for creative tasks. Your interior designer will help you pick the right colours.
Generally, things to consider when creating or redesigning a home office include the equipment needed, the amount of work required to make the custom design, and the cost of setting up the whole thing.
Coming up with the perfect home office design can be difficult if you are not an expert. You may have the idea but fail to bring it out in your setup. At Aura, we are dedicated to helping your company create the ideal home office design for your employees.
Our team of experienced interior designers will take their time to learn about the kind of design you want to create. They will recommend the best home office designs for your industry and needs.
Conclusion
Working from home is all fun until you discover that your workspace is making you less productive. Creating a fantastic home office design boosts your performance and improves your overall well-being.