Research suggests homes make better offices

 

Gallery

By Stuart Turton

Posted on 27 Nov 2007 at 17:43

A UK survey had turned years of established thought on its head, by suggesting that the office is an ideal place to socialise while the home is the perfect place to work.

The survey, commissioned by The Work Foundation and Microsoft, unsurprisingly found that a third of office workers consider their place of work "uninspiring", while well over half considered friendly colleagues (64%) and a friendly boss (51%) the most important considerations when looking for work.

"We need to redefine the term office work," concludes James McCarthy, a mobile working expert at Microsoft. "Far too many of us endure a daily commute, only to sit at our desks and work on jobs that we could do from anywhere with an internet connection. So when in the office, I urge office workers to consider leaving their desks and taking the opportunity to go and interact with their colleagues instead."

"Office noise is often seen as a distraction, when it's actually a good barometer for the creativity and energy of an office," he argues.

"For tasks that require total concentration arguably the worst place to be is at your desk. We should be using our office time to make the most of the relationships we have with colleagues."

McCarthy argues that office workers should prioritise their working day and use office time for meetings and chats, while saving the reports, research and presentations for a location better suited to total concentration, possibly the home, assuming of course it doesn't contain two kids and a blaring television.