How many different places do you work? And where do you feel most productive? With a plethora of options available to the working population, how do you choose? Personally, I find different workspaces quite stimulating. For example, sometimes I’ll work from a car or coffee shop, particularly if I’m out and about meeting a client. Other times I’ll work from my home or garden office. I’ve even been known to send an email from a ski lift whilst on holiday! In this blog, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of a few of the most common options.
The first question to ask, of course, is what you need. Do you need somewhere with few distractions, to aid focus? Perhaps somewhere quiet, so you can take calls? Or the opposite, somewhere with a background hum of activity to motivate you? Take some time to consider what environment helps you get into work mode and also whether your needs vary, for example, do you need different conditions for deep work vs more low-effort admin work?
Secondly, let’s take a look at what different work environment options can give you. You may find by doing this thought exercise that you need two or more of these options to meet all your requirements.
- The Home Office:
- Pros: If you live and work alone you can control the environment and keep things quiet, or play music, to your preference. If you can dedicate a room or space in your home, it can be personalised for comfort, decorated to your liking and of course, there is no commute!
- Cons: If you live with others, particularly kids or pets, then you may have a lot of distraction to deal with, plus the lurking necessary of household chores. Many work-from-homers complain of the blur of work-life balance, so it’s important to consider how effectively you can compartmentalise. Obviously, this relies on working with your team remotely, if you have one, and meeting clients out and about at coffee shops or similar.
- The Garden Office:
- Pros: Provides a peaceful environment if you are reasonably sound-proofed, plus there is the added bonus of benefiting from connection with nature. You may also find a separate space reduces home-based distractions.
- Cons: You are at the mercy of the weather, depending on how well-insulated your garden office is! Alongside this, you may not have all the amenities of a home office such as a bathroom or heating. Compared to taking over a room in your house, a garden office is also an additional expense to your business. Again, dependent on size you probably won’t have the space to accommodate a team or visitors.
- Co-working Spaces:
- Pros: There are likely to be many affordable, flexible workspace options in your local area. These tend to be good for networking and collaboration and often have a vibrant atmosphere, which can be motivating. Amenities such as a kitchen and bathroom will be included, sometimes even added extras such as networking events, showers or meeting rooms for hire, so you might be able to meet with your clients or your team.
- Cons: If you’re the type of person who needs a lot of quiet, they can be noisy and distracting. You also lack privacy for confidential calls and depending on the sense of community, or lack thereof, can sometimes feel impersonal. You may also have restrictions on whether you can host meetings, depending on the facilities available.
- Serviced Offices:
- Pros: Serviced offices provide a professional environment and flexible agreements – although watch out for the small print! Amenities such as meeting rooms, a kitchen, and reception are usually included. flexible agreements and You are well set up to host client meetings and share a workspace with your team members. There is also the added bonus of networking with other business owners.
- Cons: Much like co-working spaces, they can be noisy and are obviously less customisable than a leased space. There may also be limitations on after-hours access.
- Leased Commercial Premises:
- Pros: This is the most professional setting for your business, providing a dedicated space for focus, team collaboration, and a platform to showcase your brand. You are fully in control of the experience of your team, clients and suppliers when they visit you. You are also able, subject to the conditions of your lease, to customise your space to suit your needs as a business by creating different areas within your space, to meet different requirements and ultimately to deliver greater value to your bottom line.
- Cons: Of course, this is a much larger investment and long-term commitment, but that’s where I come in, as your independent commercial property adviser. If taking on commercial premises is on your radar, please do get in touch.
Ultimately, the best workspace to support you and your team to do your best work depends on your business needs, your individual preferences and the type of work you deliver. When making your choice, consider what kind of environments would support you and your team to concentrate, collaborate and connect best, and remember, it may be more than one type of working space.