Work From Oval

While we are obviously very much here to bang the gong for shedworking and garden offices (and other microarchitectural marvels), Shedworking has always been a supporter of third place working, the idea that you don't have to be sitting in a 'traditional' office to get your work done (we were perhaps the earliest exponent of pubworking).

So we've been following with some interest how Surrey County Cricket club have trialled its 'Work From Oval' experiment this summer, encouraging people to come and watch some County Championship matches at the Kia Oval and bring their work along too. 

For example, tickets for the late April game against Essex cost a very reasonable £15 and more than 100 people took advantage of the offer, making use of the various wifi upgrades during pre-season and the set aside work areas with desks, which not only have access to power but just as importantly clear views of the game. 

“We’re determined to continue to grow the audience for the Rothesay County Championship and the team have been working on ways to try and encourage more people to come through the gates this year," said Surrey CEO, Steve Elworthy. “We know that many fans treat the Kia Oval as their second home and have been using the ground to ‘Work From Oval’ for many years and we wanted to encourage others to come along as well.”

The initiative is continuing to run through all Surrey men’s and women’s games during working week hours this summer.

Photo courtesy Surrey CC

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Is the car office the new garden office?

Last week we returned to the idea of 'pubworking' and today we're looking again at working from your car, following research by used car experts heycar which suggests that garden offices are not the only places which are enjoying increased interest among former traditional officeworkers.

According to its survery of 2,000 motorists, one in 10 are regularly working from their cars during lockdown, citing it as a quiet place to talk with business contacts, plan, and simply relax. The numbers are even higher among the 17-24 age group where house-sharing means that the figure is more like one in five

“We no longer just see our vehicles as a means of getting us from A to B," said CEO of heycar, Mat Moakes. "Now they are offices, sanctuaries, a place for some much needed ‘me’ time. The car is a space to reflect while cocooned from the stresses and strains of modern life. Whether calling a friend or singing along to a favourite song.”

The research also showed that nearly a third of people liked listening to music while driving, a quarter prefering the radio, and one in eight enjoing singing along.

If you are considering working in your car, do have a look at the driver ergonomics advice pdf put together by Loughborough University.

Image courtesy Lee Connelly of his Black London black cab converted into a workspace and social space via Readersheds

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Pubworking in Liverpool

While of course this site's prime concern is being a cheerleader for working at home in garden offices, we are of course interested in all kinds of cousins of shedworking, such as coworking, third place working, and mobile 'nomadic' working. One of our particular interests is in 'pubworking' (and those of you with long memories will remember the website we set up years ago in a bid to boost the concept more widely). 

Of course there have been some large changes to society since we asked last October 'Is pubworking on the rise?' but Uncle Wilco from the other shed blog alerts us to the Halfway House pub in Liverpool, which is offering a 'pub desk' for those who are not enjoying working from home and need somewhere else, a third place pub rather than a third place coffee shop.

You get a table entirely to yourself in the pub's comfortable new snug area for three hours, close to a plug socket with free wifi (and a free soft drink). It's a quiet zone too and available from 11am Monday to Friday. You can contact the pub on Facebook or at their website.

Been a VERY busy few working weeks. Escaped WFH today to the #pub & believe it or not found myself less distracted & more focused! #flexibleworking #pubworking #winehelps pic.twitter.com/x1DSEdM18e

— Terri (@Rex_Comms) September 13, 2019

If you're pubworking, please do get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

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Is pubworking on the rise?

Longstanding readers of Shedworking will know that we've also been evangelically keen on the concept of pubworking, using pubs during the day as third place work spaces. Perhaps we're just being overly optimistic, but over the last few months we've noticed the idea gaining some traction, as these recent tweets below indicate. If you know of any pubworking ventures in your area, please do let us know.

Been a VERY busy few working weeks. Escaped WFH today to the #pub & believe it or not found myself less distracted & more focused! #flexibleworking #pubworking #winehelps pic.twitter.com/x1DSEdM18e

— Terri (@Rex_Comms) September 13, 2019

My office today, complete with rhubarb and ginger gin and also @UnitedBertoglio, my trusty assistant. 👨‍💻 #PubWorking pic.twitter.com/zYRviExONp

— Jamie (@UnitedTarrant) August 20, 2019

Freelance life #pubworking #freelancer (with a helper under the table because if I leave her at home@she breaks stuff!!) pic.twitter.com/WBW2yhifX6

— Virtually Painless (@VirtuallyPainls) April 23, 2018

Pictured is The Bottle of Sauce in Cheltenham. For more of their pubworking story, click here. ------------------------------------------------------

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Pubworking: The Bottle of Sauce

We have been banging on about pubworking here on Shedworking since 2006 and even launched an entire website devoted to it (sadly no longer with us). So we were delighted to hear that The Bottle of Sauce - Cheltenham’s Pub of the Year for the second year on the trot - is launching a new co-working and hot desking space in August.

After a £100,000 renovation project there is now a series of offices over two floors, with 46 desks available seither individually or grouped together in their own room. Naturally there is wifi, private meeting and function rooms, a secure entrance, communal kitchen, plus perks on food and drinks. There will also be regular tenant meetup and brainstorming sessions organised by the company behind the move, Dodo Pub Co.

“We initially considered installing bedrooms," explains founding member of Dodo Pub Co., Leo Johnson, "particularly as The Bottle of Sauce is a former hotel. We got as far as designing the rooms before reviewing the way the High Street and town centres are changing. We clocked the way people are working is changing too with more smaller businesses than ever and the freelancing community growing.

“We know we have a great space here and we wanted to maximise its potential. We’ve had Abercrombie & Kent with us for a year while their offices have been refurbished and now it’s time for us to open up our offices to the wider community. There’s no doubt that the way people use the town centre is changing especially with the crisis facing retailers so Dodo Works is about moving with the times and catering for what people want and need.

“Being able to pop down to the pub for a bite to eat for lunch, meet clients for a working lunch or enjoy some downtime means work can definitely involve some play too. The pub is the perfect common space for relaxed and casual meetings or socials."

For more information go to the Dodo Works site.

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Pubworking: Shedworking on the move

Readers with long memories will know that back in 2010 I started banging on about 'pubworking', the idea of encouraging homeworkers to relocate to pubs during underused daylight hours to work in pleasant surroundings (I even started a website to that end, which is now defunct, and started spreading the word, for example on Work Snug and among beer writers).

So the Shedworking staff were intrigued to read on Treehugger that 'Startups are now turning upscale restaurants & bars into coworking spaces during the day'. Here's a snippet by its writer Kimberley Mok:

"Remote professionals in a growing number of cities can now choose another kind of membership, one that allows them to work out of a bar or restaurant during those slower business hours during the day, before they revert back to serving diners and bar patrons during the evening...It's an interesting idea that brings extra income to owners of these establishments, and provides a cheaper option to coworkers... in popular coworking cities like New York City, there are over 2,000 empty restaurants during the day. Local startups like Spacious are tapping into these under-utilized spaces, which might be a boon to remote workers who might not reliably find a spot to work in a popular café."

Well worth a read. --------------------------------------------------------

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Church Pods: Ecclesiastical shedworking

We've long been of the opinion that shedworking is a state of mind as much as a physical space, hence our interest in promoting pubworking which would make available underused space in pubs for homeworkers during the day. Another option which is gaining ground is churchworking.

There are many churches in the UK which are increasingly empty and facing a very uncertain future. One option being explored is to turn them into more general social spaces, such as at St Michael's in Dulas where architects Feilden Clegg Bradley have come up with bespoke pods that fit inside the nave and work as self-catering accommodation (pictured above).

But there is also movement on the sheworkingesque front too. At All Saints in Hereford architects RRA have been implementing their Church Pods designs, which they describe as self-contained, freestanding and contemporary solution for historic buildings. One of their uses is as meeting rooms and workspaces.

And at All Souls in Bolton, OMI Architects have put together even more futuristic pods which offer three secure office spaces from £4,000 a year which includes wifi, VOIP, and a 9am-5pm reception service (as well as a coffee shop, onsite conference facilities, and a catering service).

 

There is also a Workspace Hub lounge for "virtual office members, available for homeworkers, start-up businesses and customers who require a professional place to work and meet clients for only part of the week".

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Shedworking meets pubworking

It's one of our favourite hobbyhorses here at Shedworking, that underused pub space should be marketed during the day to homeworkers. An excellent example of how this could work is featured in the Morning Advertiser which tells the story of an Enterprise Inns pub in Yorkshire that has installed three heated beach huts in a £250,000 investment plan. Well worth a browse. --------------------------------------------------------------------
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New boost to pubworking

As regular readers will know, Shedworking is a big supporter of Pubworking, so we were pleased to see that StartUp Britain is hoping to inspire pub regulars to become beermat entrepreneurs having teamed up with Pub is the Hub to encourage pub regulars to think about setting up a business while they’re having a pint.

The national campaign is asking pubgoers to write their business ideas on the back of a beer mat to be in with a chance to win a Dell laptop and some exclusive hints and tips from a top entrepreneur on how to make a go of their idea. Business expert and StartUp Britain co-founder Emma Jones said:

“Our research suggests that more than 50 per cent of people want to start a business, but only five per cent do anything about it. It’s never been easier to set up a business. All you need is the spark of idea, a laptop, access to broadband and a phone. The pub is the perfect place to network, knock around ideas and get good honest advice. All people need to hear is that they ‘can’ set up a business. If we can get that message across, we think it will only be a matter of time before they do. Business is a sociable thing. We want to see how many of those beer mat ideas we can turn into real businesses.” 

Pub is The Hub Chief Executive John Longden added: “Business has always been done in the pub – and it always will be. Pubs are better placed than anywhere in the land to offer not only a great environment for their customers to come up with enterprising ideas – but as entrepreneurs themselves – good licensees will be able to inspire them as well. We’re always talking to licensees about how to develop their pub business to become the real hub of their community. Offering business advice and opportunity is a great way to take this forward to benefit everyone.”

The nationwide competition, which recently launched its StartUp High Street initiative, is also looking for Britain’s Most Entrepreneurial Pub. The pub with the highest number of beermat business entries will pick up the title to win a laptop and some mentoring for itself. The special beer mats will be available in just under 1,000 pubs across the UK, in rural pubs affiliated to Pub is The Hub, as well as in hostelries run by a range of pub companies including Robinson’s, Marston’s, SA Brains, St Austell, Enterprise Inns, Punch and Adnams. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

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Cappuccino Commerce

Shedlike atmospheres come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes shedworkers need to work away from their garden offices. So we're strong advocates of pubworking and also coffeeshopworking or as a new study by Brother UK suggests we call it 'cappuccino commerce'.

According to a new report from the printer specialists, new UK start ups are increasingly using the wifi in coffee shops (and indeed hotels, restaurants, etc) to run their businesses. They talked to 750 small businesses and the results showed that:
 * 22% of those who have started up in the last three years base themselves in local coffee shops to reduce overheads
* 69% of companies which started in the last six months had no office space
* 76% of over-55s said technology had given them greater workplace flexibility

Interestingly, it's also Independent Booksellers Week and the Booksellers Association has released figures implying that bookshops with cafes are likely to sell more books than those without. Figures based on a survey of 40 BA members show that bookshops with cafes enjoyed a 3% growth in overall turnover in 2011, while those without saw  a decline in sales of 5.2%. Those bookshops with cafes also had  a 2% rise in their book sales last year, those without cafes had a decrease of 4%.

In the Brother study just over two thirds of companies under a year old say they plan to stay office free and only 14% are concerned that clients will take a dim view of their business for not having an "office".

“In recent years there’s certainly been a cultural shift in working habits across the UK with new technology allowing companies to work in a way that suits them and their business, whatever their size," said Joanna Williams, Head of Brother UK Marketing and Communications. "Tablet technology, mobile printing and scanning solutions, the widespread availability of Wi-Fi connectivity and cloud technology means there are no longer barriers when it comes to working remotely, and almost any location can now be treated as an extension of - or even replacement for - your office.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Another leap forward for pubworking

Great news for all pubworkers as Mitchells & Butlers has today announced a three year deal with O2 to put free wifi into its 1,600 restaurants and pubs across the UK.

Robin Young, Operations Director at Mitchells & Butlers said: "We already know that people love to eat and drink with us and whether guests visit to relax over breakfast, brunch or dinner, work away from the office, or have a beer with friends and colleagues, we know from talking to them that free and easy to use wifi is something they want in the restaurant and pub environment."

M&B has a wide range of operations including Harvester, Toby Carvery, Vintage Inns, Nicholson's, Browns, All Bar One and O'Neill's. The first hotspots will be introduced to 199 Harvester restaurants with rollout across the group to be completed by October this year. Gavin Franks, MD of O2 Wifi said: "Pub and restaurant-goers will soon be able to receive promotional offers, check the football scores, reply to their emails and update social media sites over a Sunday roast and a pint."
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An Afternoon in the Pub

We've been talking about 'pubworking' on Shedworking for several years now and included a section on it in the Shedworking book. So we've been delighted to watch the development of the St Albans-based venture 'An Afternoon in the Pub'.

Established by an informal group of St Albans designers, copywriters and social media specialists, the idea is that once a month, a local pub is the venue for a‘business social’ - it's not a formal networking event, more a pleasant afternoon to have a chat and a beer. Shedworking is fully behind this imaginative use of pubs and hopes it goes onto great things. Here's their blurb:

"The backbone of any town is its local businesses and we want the businesses of St. Albans to know that there is a free, relaxed, humour-filled environment where we can all get together, learn about each other, understand each other and see if there are ways in which we can help each other."

The next event - which the Shedworking staff will be attending - is on November 16 at the White Hart Tap in Keyfield Terrace, St Albans (pictured above): it's free and there will be nibbles. As well as their website/blog, you can find them as @pminthepub on Twitter and on Facebook.

Combined garden office and store area

We often get so excited about a new trend here on Shedworking - whether it's pubworking, coshedworking or revolving garden offices - that we are guilty sometimes of forgetting one of the most basic reasons for having a shed in the garden: storage. Here's a nice example of this from Garden2office, a combined editing suite garden office and store area in central London featuring triple glazing, recessed lighting, internet connection and a plastered and painted finish.
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Pubworking: the future for shedworking?

We've been talking about pubworking as a viable working option for the future on Shedworking since 2006 so we were pleased to see that 'futurologist' James Bellini made a similar point recently at the London Transport Museum and Orange debate on the impact of Connected Britain. The panel suggested that the days of the traditional office environment could be numbered and Bellini commented:

“Why not Wi-Fi enable the village hall or the local pub and provide places for people to hot-desk? Connectivity doesn’t mean the end of social interaction; it’s a way of enhancing it. By eliminating the dreaded commute – on which 4.6 million hours are spent daily – people could use the time for more productive purposes.”

Of course there can be problems involved but only yesterday some of us were discussing the idea of #pubworking on twitter and arguing that pubs should operate a special section for homeworking nomads. What are your thoughts?
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