The latest trend among homeworkers nationwide – the ‘shoffice’, a desk in a shed, is popping up deep in UK gardens.
After more than a year of working from kitchen tables, sofas or guest rooms, many Britons are looking to carve out a quiet workspace in the loft or in their garden.
Jules Carluccio, who works in the local government, is among the millions of workers who have not returned to his usual place of work since last spring.
In anticipation of permanent homework, she decided to embark on a “shoffice”.
The new workspace in his Bedfordshire garden is more than a humble garden shed. With an area of over 8 m², the wood, metal and glass structure has a four-poster seating area and electricity. It didn’t come cheap at £ 17,500.
“It was a big [financial] commitment, but I weighed it, ”Carluccio said. “I looked at how long I would stay on the property, how long I would stay at my job, and what types of uses I expected.”
More than a third (38%) of UK workers were working from home in mid-May, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
Few office workers expect to return to their desks five days a week.
Earlier this month, accounting firm EY became the latest company to tell employees they should work from home at least two days a week, even after the coronavirus restrictions were lifted. Its 17,000 employees will switch to a “hybrid working model”, combining work from home and the office, as well as customer visits.
Many other large office occupants are planning to embrace hybrid work, in order to reduce office costs as much as to please staff.
These employees need a place to work on days when they don’t have to be at their desks.
Growing demand for home offices pushed Smart Garden Rooms, Offices & Studios to its best April, recording £ 750,000 in sales, more than double its monthly average.
Since reopening last May, the Suffolk-based company has hardly been able to build its garden offices quickly enough to meet demand, despite hiring a third more staff.
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Its managing director, Matt Moss, said: “People don’t spend £ 20,000 on a garden room on a whim, thinking I might be able to work from home in the future. People are getting involved. “
“Our level of requests amazes us every day; that it’s so consistent, ”he said, adding that“ shoffices ”usually don’t need building permits.
The trend is repeated elsewhere. Garden building sales climbed 500% between January and May, compared with a year earlier, while garden shed sales climbed more than 460%, according to DIY and building supplies retailer Toolstation.
The desire of workers to create an office away from the office also prompts some to move upstairs. On the south coast of England, the Brighton Loft Company saw an 80% increase in inquiries during the pandemic, which its owner, Gilles Buxton, attributed to the demand for home offices.