Homes Are Increasingly Becoming Places of Work

New research shows that 80% of the country’s smallest companies now operate from a residential property. This is leading to homeowners making significant improvements to accommodate the requirements of working from home.

The data, which was compiled for Lloyds Bank Insurance, showed that a large majority of businesses that have fewer than 10 employees are now run from someone’s home. The report, titled Big Issues for Small Businesses, highlights that around 50% of these businesses actually begin life from home.

Home Improvements

This increase in the number of people using their home as their office is leading to property owners having to make changes to meet their requirements. According to the report, over 75% of homeworkers have needed to make changes so they can work at home. The average price of this work is £1,392.

42% of those who responded said that they had converted one of the rooms to an office. The most popular location for home working is the living room (41%). A further 13% use their garage or have an office in the garden. Another convenient location for home working would be a loft extension, which could be easily accessed via stainless steel staircases.

Why Do People Choose to Work at Home?

With the increased availability of high-speed internet access and the decrease in the price of technology, including laptops and tablets, home working is now more achievable for the majority of people. When they first start working from home, there might be a number of reasons for this decision. Often it is because they have taken the jump into self-employment and they want to keep their overheads low. However, there are also plenty of fully employed workers who prefer the lifestyle working at home brings.

The research found that 75% enjoy working from home because it gives them more flexibility. Two-thirds of those who were surveyed see the financial benefits of not having an outside office, and 57% believe that their productivity has increased since they started working at home.

There are still downsides to working from home, with over a third feeling that they work too much. Around a third of respondents also missed having colleagues around and the social buzz of an office.

Whatever your reasons for choosing to work from home, there is a range of ways you can adapt your property to fit in with your new lifestyle.