Working in a shared office in a small business

If you work at a large business, an office may be a burden. Being forced to go in once or twice a week can feel awful; as your lack of freedom is made apparent and travel time means you spend less with the people you love. Whilst working from home can be amazing, its important to treat it (and yourself) with respect so you dont end up spinning the peddles on a bike with no wheels. An option for you is asking for a shared space office for you to better separate work and home.

Getting a mini office

Asking for a shared space when working for a small/micro business can be hard, but make sure to mention really these key factors:

• Impacting your productivity
• Sharing the mental impact of always being at home with your employer.
• Separation of work and home spaces,
• Show them what your desk looks like now, especially if its minimal, crowded and difficult
• Mention the isolation of perma-WFH

What to look for

To boost the chance it'll be a good experience, find:

1. Somewhere closeby, you want it to be easy to get to (15 minute or less walk away is optimal)
2. Somewhere with good parking, if its further away (I have struggled getting to my office because parking was so bad)
3. Somewhere with other people, ensure that its clean and lively in the office. Even if you rarely do it, having the option to have a chat with someone at lunch is valuable
4. Somewhere with light and AC. A neutral environment is important to keep your mind working at its best.

What are the Benefits:

• Having this flexibility, you are not forced to go in and can use it when it suits you
• If it has a meeting space, you can use this depending on the type of work you do
• Biscuits, snacks etc. This is great for pushing through a hard day

What are the Cons:

• You need to use it to get the benefits, if you never show up then cancel it
• It can still be isolating, depending on your personality style you can still struggle with feeling alone

My experience

During the time I had the mini office, it was great. I loved having the extra dedicated space. I felt that at home I was going mental trying to do work. My bed was right next to my workspace, and my workspace was about the size of one ultrawide monitor. It becomes dirty quickly as some of my hobbies revolve around the computer also. Meaning I would finish work for the day and not move, continue to sit and vegetate. This caused me to feel like I wasn't moving at all, with my career or with my life.

Once I got the office, I shifted some plants and books in. The cleaner always kept the floor and bin emptied for me. I had a second monitor which meant that it felt similar to working from home. Many great things, however over time I got lazy. At the start I was going in most days, however it changed to 2 days a week, then 1, then once per 2 weeks. After this phase, I bumped it again and put the effort to go in again, however funnily the motivation didnt stick. Sometimes the things that are good for you dont feel good at the moment.

After it was like this for a bit, I began asking whether this was really making me happy? It decided that it wasn't, and cancelled it. My employers were a bit comfused about this, with me essentially tossing free value. I do think whether this was a bad decision. I sent this email,

I think a more flexible workspace will be more interesting to me. Waking up early and driving somewhere to work in a national park or local bush trail. This sounds exciting, even if the work is dreary at times. Once I start along this path, who knows what I will think or whteher I come to regret this or not.. I stand by the statement that variety and change is better than stagnation.