More of us are working from home than ever before. But as we slowly start getting back to normal after the pandemic, many of us will be returning to offices up and down the country, even if only on a part-time basis.
The pandemic has also seen a lot of job losses. This has, in turn, seen a growing number of people starting their own business.If you’ve started up on your own, you’ll be conscious of the need to keep overheads low – and working from home can work out a lot cheaper than renting out office space.
And having employees is no reason to rent out separate office space, you can simply kit them out with a laptop and a smartphone and some other essential tools for remote working and they’ll be able to do their job just as well wherever they are.
If you need to collaborate on anything you could arrange to meet up at your home office, a coffee shop or conduct a meeting via conference call.
There comes a point, however, when you outgrow your home office – the trouble is though, you may not be aware or willing to accept you have.
So here are five telltale signs you’ve outgrown your home office…
1. Your office space is spreading
When people start working from home they invariably start out in the spare room, loft, garage or some other dead space. However, as your work load increases, your work stuff can spread around the house – your kitchen cupboards become filing cabinets, the cat litter tray becomes your in-tray and your sits on your office chair like he’s company CEO.
If this is the case, tidy up then move out of there at the first opportunity.
2. Home and work life balance blurs
If you find you’re struggling to keep your business and pleasure apart – for instance, you’re sat in front of the TV tapping away at your laptop or you find it impossible to switch off from work – then it’s time you relocated.
It’s amazing how a commute, no matter how short, between work and home is enough to help you switch off from work.
3. Motivation is a problem
Motivation can be a big problem when working from home, particularly if there are 1,001 distractions or it’s become a cluttered environment – getting a new office space could give both you and your business a new lease of life.
4. It’s affecting your customers
More and more people are working from home these days, whether for a fledgling business or a FTSE 100 company , but if you’re holding meetings at home there can be no blurring of the boundaries and you need to give your colleagues your full attention.
So if your meetings are interrupted by the baby crying, the cat wandering in or even next door’s DIY, it’s time to move on.
Similarly, holding client meetings at home is fine if you have a designated office space – especially like in these new builds – but conducting meetings in the living room or kitchen won’t go down well at all.
5. You need to get better known
It could be that your business has reached a plateau, or is struggling, simply because not enough people know you exist. If this is the case, getting an office space, particularly one with a shop front and signage, could give your business the shot in the arm it needs.
