Are you looking to set up a business that is going to be working out of an office?
The office setting has come under a lot of scrutiny in recent years, partially because in 2020, due to COVID, people working from home were able to do their jobs as well as they were (if not better) than they did in an office.
So, you may be questioning if you need an office space at all. This article seeks to break down the pros and cons of both offices and remote working to help you choose the right one for your team.
Office Working
In this part, the focus is going to be the pros and cons of the office space. Think hard here about if this space would be best for your individual business or if a 50/50 split might be better.
The Pros
If you aren’t a fan of the traditional office, you may be wondering about what the pros of an office are.
Well, a key one that many people noticed after the lockdown ended was that, while a cubicle may not be the best place on earth, it is somewhere that is structured, allowing your team to focus on their work without any distractions.
Also, if your workforce is in an office, it allows all of them to collaborate with each other face-to-face, which can make it easier to brainstorm ideas as well as build stronger working relationships.
As well as this, if you have a well-kitted-out office that has been hired from a company like thebrew.co.uk, your team will have access to more equipment than they would have at home, meaning that they will be more likely to be able to complete tasks to a higher standard.
The Drawbacks
Now onto the drawbacks that any business owner has to consider.
The first one is commuting; when you are choosing an office, you need to make sure it is somewhere that is accessible to all of your team, such as a town or city centre, or you may have staff members that are tardy!
Then there is the cost to you. Many companies choose to rent their office spaces but, if you are aiming to make your office in the centre of a city, that is not going to be cheap. Workers may also feel micromanaged, whereas, in a home setting, they will have more autonomy.
Remote Working
If you worked in 2020 in an office, chances are that you spent six months (minimum) working at home!
The Pros
The pros of remote working include not having to rent a space for your team, as well as no commute for them and, as 2020 found, greater outcomes. Who knows? Maybe it is because so many people have pets that are able to offer them some decompression on tough days!
The Drawbacks
However, it isn’t all good when it comes to petting Rover at home while working on a spreadsheet.
The home has a lot of drawbacks that can lead to workers feeling that their work isn’t all that important, thus causing delays. There is also the mental health aspect; people who live alone and work from home are more likely to experience prolonged issues with their mental health, like excessive loneliness, than those who work in an office with other people.