Working From Your Own Home Office

Working From Your Own Home Office

As our lives get more complex and with the rise of the “Working from Home culture”, we are all looking for ways to simplify our working lives .
Working from home has increased by a fifth in the last ten years to reach a record 1.5m according to a new study. The biggest growth has been among women with 35% (157,000) more working from home in 2015 than in 2005.

Union leaders have urged bosses to be more flexible to let employees work from home to reduce commuting costs and to help people cope with caring and childcare responsibilities.
(http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/working-home-soars-15million-people-8008210)

Women especially are choosing the homeworking option

Considering a separate home space to maximise your small business or home working option

A Home Office or Garden Studio offers an alternative to trying to find space in your home for the full time or part time homeworker. Creating an alternative outdoor space in your Garden can help to avoid some of the pitfalls of working in the actual house such as constant family distractions and temptations to focus on other commitments. Remember though this is not a Garden Shed!  It’s designed to encourage creativity and indeed can be a hugely positive addition to any family home.

So working from home, is this a good idea?

Whether you are a full time home-based small business owner or someone who splits their time by working from home occasionally, there are a number of pros and cons to consider before you set up a home office and plan your work environment.
Working out of a home-based office is certainly not for everyone, so it’s important to consider the many advantages and disadvantages before you make it a part of your work process.
Here are a few thoughts to help you decide if working from home is right for you.

The Advantages of Working from Home.

There are many reasons working from home is a great option for many small business owners. Here is a look at a few:

• No boring daily commute. Save a great deal of time and money. It can even reduce your daily stress levels.
• Flexibility: working from home allows you to work during your most productive times and create a workflow that is right for you.
• Reduction of distractions. You control them much easier than you can control distractions that come from co-workers, employees, and other office-based noise.
• Day is often less stressful. More control over your stress level. It’s easier to walk away or take a break when work gets particularly crazy.
• You can save money. Not only avoiding the costly long commute, but you can also write off a portion of your home office expenses in your taxes when you work from home.
• Improve your work/life balance. Many professionals struggle with finding a balance between work and their personal lives. Working from home can make this balance a little bit easier to find and maintain

The Disadvantages of Working from Home.

• Getting focused on work every day in your home environment takes a great deal of self-discipline and motivation.
• Can be lonely. no access to co-workers and colleagues can be very isolating.
• Finishing for the day: there is less distinction between work and personal life when you work from home and there is a strong likelihood that you will overwork.
• Creating a home office or workspace can use up living space , so consider the flexibility of a separate home office building.
• Relationships are harder to form with colleagues and clients when you don’t have a daily face-to-face connection.
• There’s less ad hoc learning so you will need to make an extra effort to seek out networking and learning opportunities on your own.

Only you can decide if working from home is right for your small business. Consider the pros and cons outlined here, your home situation, and your personal character traits. By analysing these factors, you can make a decision that will work for your business.

Scotia Cabins

Formed in 2014 as a farming diversification business, this local husband and wife team, based in Abernethy just outside Perth, have established their BBQ Cabin supply business as the sole Scottish distributor for Arctic Cabins. Arctic Cabins recently expanded their product range to include their Outdoor Buildings range via their sister company CabinMaster. Caroline, Scotia’s co-founder, agrees “The addition of the CabinMaster Outdoor Buildings products allows Scotia to supplement its extensive range of BBQ Cabins.” We are delighted to have been awarded this accolade by our colleagues at CabinMaster and can’t wait to introduce this exciting product to our Scottish clients.”