Tomorrow’s Workspace is Your Own House
The ever-blurring line between home and work for our generation
Constant connection
A few decades ago, doctors were the first group of people to experience the intrusion of their professional life into their personal one. The pager was invented. Later on, in the early 2000’s, it was time for top management and bankers to join the lucky few thanks to the first Blackberry. Today, each and every one of us is constantly connected with our 4G smartphones and fibre Internet connections, granting us access to unlimited information. Therefore the workplace lost one of its key characteristics: it is not this special place with access to a huge amount of data and resources anymore. So, why bother going there?
A shift in the place of work
Most of us are lucky enough to do a job requiring a computer rather than a 9-to-5 physical activity to earn a living. Thus, as technology nowadays has become affordable enough for most to own decent equipment, it is fair to say what we do at work could be achieved from home. Could, you may wonder. Can and is done from home, for a growing part of the population. There are long time adopters of this lifestyle — writers, journalists, artists and so on. But this is more and more democratized. Consultants, by working 4 days a week on the road from their laptops, prove that corporate work can be done in any place with a solid Internet connection. Freelancers have actually worked directly from home or from coffee shops for quite a while now. It is safe to say that Generation Y will become increasingly accustomed to working from home.
The Entrepreneur
From Bill Gates starting Microsoft in his garage to AirBnb founders using their own home to test their product, we all know the stories of super successful entrepreneurs for who work and home were the same place until they joined the track to success. Every entrepreneur knows he cannot afford large costs at the beginning — what easier (and cheaper) solution is there but to live and work from home? As the tech sector continues to grow, an increasing part of Generation Y has become entrepreneurs. The same-place-for-work-and-sleep phenomenon has never been truer. Yet being an entrepreneur has an intrinsic social side to it and home is lonely. Indeed, the entrepreneur needs to be in the field to test his product, to learn by talking with other people and so on. Thus home often is a poor solution to which many entrepreneurs feel the need to find an alternative. Rest assured, we found one for you.
Ever heard of co-living?
You know about co-working.
These community-like spaces offering desks and facilities for companies unable to afford office space. Take it to the next level, i.e. reduce the number of people and increase their involvement in the community. You end up with 4–5 people, living as flatmates at night and working together during daytime. By blurring the boundaries between workspace and home, it brings together like-minded people in a context of both social and professional emulation desired by many Generation Y entrepreneurs. And it would seem that not only are they creating the companies of tomorrow but also setting the trend for Generation Y’s future lifestyle…
