Where are we all working?

And where do we all want to work?

This question has sparked so many different conversations and debates ever since we all ‘stayed home’ for COVID and tested the boundaries of what we could all achieve away from the office. 

Up until very recently, I have always had a 9-5 job as an interior designer and I experienced office culture both ways. My first job was exclusively office based; I had a desktop computer (!), no laptop (!!), no work phone (!!!) which is absolutely mad when I think back, especially as I regularly had to be on site for projects. I just had to print drawings, pack my pencil and hope any changes wouldn't be too complicated. 

It wasn’t until 2017 that I finally joined a company that gave me a laptop and I loved it. Having a laptop immediately gave me freedom and, I felt, better control over my work output. The company encouraged us to be out and about often, meeting clients, and so this idea that I should be in the office all the time started to melt away. I had my first taste of working from home; propped up at my kitchen table, coffee by my side, views over the garden, fresh homemade lunch and zero commuting time.

And the times I was in the office started to become more productive; I valued the office environment more when I wasn’t there all the time and by synching office days with my team we started to utilise that time we had together more effectively. 

When the COVID instruction came to stay home, I felt my colleagues and I handled it well. We were already well versed in working from home, and we took to Teams meetings like ducks to water. However, being tied to home-working exclusively took its toll on me, just like exclusive office working did in my previous company. I missed seeing people, especially as I worked in a creative industry, being able to bounce ideas off of colleagues was essential. Those first few forays back into the office were glorious. Even at 3 ft apart. 

I am now completely untethered to an office, having taken a sabbatical from my UK job to move here and so my question to myself is, where do I work from? I am currently writing this blog from my kitchen table which is lovely, the door is open, sun spilling in but in the back of my mind I know I can’t do this everyday. I will get cabin fever. I’ll lose inspiration. 

There are a few alternative options that I used back in London too; coffee shops, co-working spaces and hotel lounges. A coffee shop is the most diverse and finding oe that works for you is essential. Some are happy for you to camp all day, some blink at you and ask if you’re going to order any more coffee yet (cue me being totally over-caffeinated) and the vibe is different depending on the cafe. 

Co-working spaces are the closest to an office you’re going to get; attendees will most likely be like-minded people with jobs to get done, meetings to attend etc. And you have all the familiar office amenities like a real desk, monitors and (hopefully) free coffee. And as you're paying for the pleasure you need to make the most of it (cue me being totally over-caffeinated… again). 

Finally, hotel lounges. The first time I did this, I did it for the gram, but it became a total favourite of mine. They are relaxed spaces, the people you see are always so interesting, there’s food and drink and, you guessed it, coffee and depending on the hotel, there are places set up for working. Also, come 5pm you can get on board happy hour.

Being in any of the above spaces will reconnect me to the world, and in doing so will help my own creative process, whilst I will also need to retreat back to the kitchen table from time to time, coffee pot on and my own music in the background. I am fully aware that this is a personal preference, there are many people out there that still prefer the office 5 days a week and others that are fully set up at home; happy, hydrated, in their lane.

This all begs the question - how on earth do companies design their offices to relate to all of our different needs? We are now the most diverse workforce there has been in modern times in terms of our needs and preferences. What is interesting to me is that now I am untethered from an office, I am trying to recreate that environment with my space-hopping. My main reason is not feeling like the only person in the world, beetling away on a laptop at home. But for others it would be the opposite, they would prefer to stay home, and for many it’s a blend.

The most important and consistent factor for everyone who works anywhere is choice and flexibility. Being able to either adapt the space to your needs (paramount in office design) or being able to choose a different space to work in that fits your needs better (also a factor in office design). 

So I will do some research, try out some different spaces, and see what works well for me and hopefully find the perfect blend of home vs office alternative working. As long as there’s fresh coffee wherever I am!