This year, many people across the country discovered the ups and downs of working from home. From trying to get a home office set up to juggling all of the distractions the family home can throw at you, it’s been an interesting time to say the least – with some taking to it better than others. But where are people getting the most work done?
The Room
A survey conducted by instantprint, a company offering printing services from pamphlets to posters, revealed that 44% of people work from home in their living room. This is a surprising choice as it isn’t effective at separating the home and work life – which we’ll discuss later. 20% of people work in the bedroom or a spare room. 17% work from the kitchen, and another 17% opted for the hallway. Working from home has meant many Brits have had to get creative with their work spaces – from ironing boards as makeshift desks to tree house offices!
Distractions in the Home
In the survey mentioned above, only 16% of people work from a home office. This makes sense as not everyone has the space for one. However, not having the right environment to work in can lead to an awful lot of distractions. Children and pets came up as the main two contenders for the biggest distraction. Head of instantprint Jon Constantine-Smith said, “It’s important to try and not be so hard on yourself and remember that there were also distractions in your normal working environment.”
Creating a Space
Constantine-Smith went on to say, “It’s integral that we create a calm and comfortable working environment, ensuring we can make a clear separation between our work and home lives.” So, even if you are unable to create the perfect office, it’s important you create some kind of working space for yourself. Whether this is dedicating a certain space in the kitchen or making use of your spare room. Your mental health will appreciate this divide and you’ll find yourself working more productively in your makeshift workspace.
An Enjoyable WFH Experience
It would appear that working from home is here to stay for the foreseeable future, so this begs the question: are people enjoying the experience? In the instantprint survey, it was revealed 34% of people didn’t want to go back to their regular working environment, with another third saying they would like to go back to the office on a part-time basis. Flexibility has been one of the biggest bonuses with working from home, with 15% of people saying they were able to juggle their work and personal life more easily.
Working from home comes with many challenges. It’s important you don’t compare yourself to others and find a system which works best for you. What way do you work from home best?
