Working from Home: The Garage as Home Office
January 31, 2022
Three years into the global health pandemic has dramatically changed our work setup. When hard lockdowns were first implemented, companies made firm decisions to let the employees work remotely as exposure outside can risk the health of the employees. And that could mean major responsibility for the company as commuting to work or even sharing office space with fellow colleagues who are asymptomatic or symptomatic, endangering not only themselves but their families when they get home.
While the work-from-home setup was seen as a productive way to get the job done while in the middle of a global health crisis, some couldn’t just get used to it. And there are many factors as to why this kind of setup does not fit a number of people.
First, there is no space at home to allot a workstation. It is especially true for workers whose family members are all cooped up at home and forced to attend to work and studies in their living quarters. And there can never be enough space to accommodate all. This would result in a lack of focus and dwindling down of work performance. Perhaps, in the three years of this kind of setup, there have been numerous moves to various parts of the house to get back in the groove of having a productive and less stressful work life.
Second, mind you, working from home was also seen as more stressful and tiring than working in the office. Work and home tasks get blurred to the point that it feels that work is never-ending and relaxing is something that gets lost in translation over time. Unlike before, all work is left behind once you step out of the office. Now, work follows you at all times because your workstation is a shared space with your living area.
Third, online communication is wearing us out. The video calls, Zoom sessions, and other online platforms are now being saturated left and right. We miss the face-to-face interactions with our officemates. And whether we admit it or not, the free food during meetings or team huddles.
While there are more reasons on why we have a love and hate relationship with the work-from-home setup, we do agree that this is the best solution for now when it comes to dealing with the global health crisis. Well, aside from getting vaccinated and having booster shots. And what else should we do when given this setup? We make the most out of it and find solutions to our setup problems.
One such solution and maybe the start of a cobweb of solutions is transferring your workstation to your garage.
While the work-from-home setup was seen as a productive way to get the job done while in the middle of a global health crisis, some couldn’t just get used to it. And there are many factors as to why this kind of setup does not fit a number of people.
First, there is no space at home to allot a workstation. It is especially true for workers whose family members are all cooped up at home and forced to attend to work and studies in their living quarters. And there can never be enough space to accommodate all. This would result in a lack of focus and dwindling down of work performance. Perhaps, in the three years of this kind of setup, there have been numerous moves to various parts of the house to get back in the groove of having a productive and less stressful work life.
Second, mind you, working from home was also seen as more stressful and tiring than working in the office. Work and home tasks get blurred to the point that it feels that work is never-ending and relaxing is something that gets lost in translation over time. Unlike before, all work is left behind once you step out of the office. Now, work follows you at all times because your workstation is a shared space with your living area.
Third, online communication is wearing us out. The video calls, Zoom sessions, and other online platforms are now being saturated left and right. We miss the face-to-face interactions with our officemates. And whether we admit it or not, the free food during meetings or team huddles.
While there are more reasons on why we have a love and hate relationship with the work-from-home setup, we do agree that this is the best solution for now when it comes to dealing with the global health crisis. Well, aside from getting vaccinated and having booster shots. And what else should we do when given this setup? We make the most out of it and find solutions to our setup problems.
One such solution and maybe the start of a cobweb of solutions is transferring your workstation to your garage.