Unique places work happened in 2020 (and 2021)
The definition of the “third place” is an area or building that people can come and network, cowork, and escape from the home and office. It’s usually a church, library, or most popular — coffee shop. Today it seems we work anywhere and everywhere because nearly 60% of the American population are still not at the office. The ability to work remotely “indefinitely” almost seems like an invitation to travel. Unfortunately not many places are open and capacity restrictions and CDC recommendations make traveling, in a traditional sense, tricky. But not all hope is lost, we’ve gotten pretty creative in the ways we’ve worked this past year to add variety and fun to work spaces.
Hotels
Hotels already have many of the amenities needed for a coworking space — quiet private rooms, food, cleaning services, and located near bus hubs, airports, and large cities. Short-term business trips will always be a staple, but with the increase in remote workers, new solutions are welcome. Companies like Wojo and Zoku are providing solutions — places to work, rest, and play for weeks or months at a time. Some rooms are for those on a solo adventure, and other spaces are for larger groups. They even offer opportunities to network with other travelers. One of the greatest challenges of being a remote worker is work-life balance. Being able to travel, work, and build community at the same time helps prevent burnout.
RVs
“Work hard. Travel harder,” is the mantra of many digital nomads these days. RV sales were up 10% last summer compared to 2019, the majority of consumers being first-time buyers, and even higher sales have been seen in RV share sites — over a 60% increase. Although there are currently not many RVs that support office work out of the box, Airstream released plans for their first model that includes an office. This is not only a shift in design, but a whole shift in user. This trend is coming fresh off the “tiny home” movement that has intrigued us with its minimal and simple-living style. It makes complete sense that with the freedom to “work from home”, we choose to pack up and work from anywhere.
Flex Rooms
For those of us with families or who prefer to stay home, our homes have become a place that we spend a LOT of time. We work, eat, sleep, workout, and play all within the same 4 walls. Real Estate agents and construction workers alike have seen a new need called “flex rooms”. An extra room in your house that can double as an office, workout room, or even a homeschool or playroom for kids. If you’re trying to sell your house and have an extra room, many suggest staging it as an office because the value of a home office right now is so high.
In Bed
For the ultimate home bodies, just rolling over and working in bed is a real reality. According to Tuck’s study done on sleep and work habits during the pandemic, 72% of people have worked from bed, 8.8% of those people working all or most of their workweek from bed. That’s up 50% than before the pandemic. Obviously there are physical effects from working in bed — neck and back strain, less muscle use, poor posture and perhaps even bed sores. But that hasn’t stopped the many Americans from working from bed part of their day. There have been a slew of products developed to support this new trend like adjustable monitor workstations and even the overbed table.
We have definitely gotten used to working remotely. Some of us prefer to travel more and see the world with our extra freedom, while others have been setting up the perfect workspace at home. Whatever your style, this will surely be the trend to watch. Offices aren’t going away, but they are changing. Many have started back, some part time, some full time. It is too soon to know how many will be home for the long haul, or traveling with work in tow — there seems to be a plethora of product solutions!
