It should come as no surprise that working from home is more popular than ever. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate offices across the country closed their doors and asked workers to switch from cubicles to home offices.
Statistics show that before the COVID-19 outbreak, only 17% of employees worked remotely 5+ days a week. After the COVID-19 outbreak, that percentage grew to 44% of employees. While those numbers have adjusted as corporate offices have reopened, many people are choosing to continue working remotely.
Remote work brings a lot of benefits to the table. You don’t have to get up early to rush out the door. You don’t have to worry about mornings of bumper-to-bumper traffic. You’ll have time to run a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher during your afternoon coffee break.
On the other hand, one of the biggest issues with working remotely is that your house may not have a designated office. According to a survey from the Pew Research Center, only 77% of workers had an easy time finding an adequate workspace. What can you do if you’re part of the 23% that doesn’t have an adequate workspace at home?
Building a Home Office When You’re Tight on Space
You don’t have a spare room that you can convert into a home office. All of your rooms are taken and accounted for. So, where can you work?
Backyard Office
Do you have more space outdoors than you have indoors? Then, you should consider putting together a converted shipping container in your backyard. A converted shipping container will give you a perfect workspace. It will protect your equipment from wind, rain and pesky critters. It will give you privacy from neighbors. And it will provide a little peace and quiet from everything going on outside.
How do you get a shipping container? Start the process by going to Boxhub and ordering the appropriate size and grade of shipping container. You will want an option that is wind and water-tight. Once you’ve made the purchase, you can customize the container — this could mean adding insulation, inputting electrical connections and painting the outside. Then, you’ll be ready to move in your office equipment!
Closet Office
What if you don’t have a lot of space inside and outside? Then a closet office (sometimes called a “cloffice”) could be just the right solution for you.
After emptying out the closet and removing any bottom shelves, try to put a small desk inside. If you can’t find a desk with the right dimensions, add a wide floating shelf instead. Once that’s done, add your computer equipment and office accessories to the desk/shelf. Then, there you have it — you have a small workspace hidden behind your closet doors.
Fold-Out Office
Another option when you’re tight on space is a fold-out office. A fold-out office is comprised of a wall-mounted desk (sometimes called a “murphy desk”) that you can unfold when you need to work and tuck away when you’re done. This is ideal for workers that require minimal office equipment, like a laptop and set of headphones, to get their tasks done.
You can build a great home office, even when you don’t have a spare room. Follow these tips and make your perfect workspace.