Selfemployed shedworkers needed for interesting research

John Armstrong is conducting research into the self employed shedworker and other forms of desk worker and how their physical workspace/office location interferes with or enhances their work/non-work areas of life. The project is part of his MSc in Occupational Psychology. Here's what he says:

Until now there has been very little research into this specific area. With shedworking and homeworking and office sharing (co-working) on the increase it is important we better understand how such situations might affect lives in order to provide advice and guidance and make more informed policy decisions.

So, please do spend a couple of minutes filling in his online questionnaire survey: it's all anonymous and we've done it already. Click here to go to the survey page.

John hopes to collect completed questionnaires throughout this month and analyse the findings in July so that he can report back to Shedworking early in the autumn.
Photo courtesy James Glave
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Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Garden Room Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here.

Vote for the Shed of the Year 2010 NOW!

The voting booths are only open at readersheds.co.uk until June 20 so nip across and cast your votes in the many various categories. Click here to leap there.
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Wednesday posts are sponsored by The Garden Room Company®, the UK's premier supplier of garden offices and garden rooms. Click here.

Shedworking short story

Shedworking's literary editor Sarah Salway has been celebrating the launch of the Shedworking book over at her marvellous blog with one of her signature 50 Word Short Stories. Here's the first half:

But what do you do in there? Melissa asks.

Think, he replies.

Don’t be ridiculous, she says. You can't think without me to tell you how to.

Nip across to her blog here to read the rest...
Image courtesy of The Thinking Shed

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by The Home Office Company, manufacturers of unique garden rooms since 1998. Now in 10 exciting new colours. Click here for more details.

World Cup shedworking

With the world cup almost upon us, Jason Young of Open Construction Services muses on the relationship between garden offices and football's biggest competition:

With the greatest football tournament in the world almost upon us I’m even more thrilled to be a shedworker than usual. Unlike previous years when my ability to watch games was severely compromised not only by the absence of a television but my employer’s unwillingness to indulge my passion for the beautiful game, this world cup will be different.

Running my business from a garden office I designed and built in my back garden, subtle modifications have already been made in preparation for kick off. George flags provide patriotic decoration and the installation of a flat screen television means I can enjoy more football than ever before.Of course being a new business means productivity cannot be allowed to slip and even during the World Cup the work still needs to get done. But like thousands of homeworkers already appreciate, shedworking allows me the flexibility to fit work around my hobbies and interests.

The benefits of flexible working are obvious, Brendon Barber General Secretary of the TUC has commented: “Whether its about watching great sporting events like the World Cup or collecting children from school, allowing people more flexibility makes them happier and, ultimately, more productive for their employers.”

Those working in more traditional environments are not so lucky - according to a report by Kellogg’s just one in ten UK employees said that they would be allowed to take time off during the tournament and up to 15% of employees are expected to take ‘sickies’ to ensure they can follow their team’s progress.

Whilst England’s success in the World Cup is far from guaranteed, flexible working in my home office is sure to be great for me and great for the business - and who knows, if the team has a good run the water cooler may well have to swapped for a beer fridge. Good luck England.

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Tuesday posts are sponsored by The Home Office Company, manufacturers of unique garden rooms since 1998. Now in 10 exciting new colours. Click here for more details.

TV company looking for shedworkers in Wales

Are you a shedworker in Wales? If so Heledd Sian from Wales S4C would love to hear from you. She is working on a television programme about houses and homes and is interested in including an item about garden offices in Wales. If this sounds like you please drop her an electronic mail at heledd.sian@boomerang.co.uk
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.

Branched: Porch Shed competition winner

The three winners of John Coupe's Secrets of Shed Building competition to design a shed with a porch have been announced. Very worthy winners too they are, but do look at the many other entrants to this competition too. My personal favourite, and the one which also most tickled the fancy of judge James Alexander-Sinclair, was Branched, pictured above, by by Julian Grobe from Buenos Aires (yes, it's a competition with a genuinely international flavour): the exterior is made from tree branches on a wooden frame and designed for a subtropical climate in delta del Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.

ESRI roof top garden: shedworking without a shed

You don't need a garden office to work in a garden. Here's an excellent example, the awardwinning green roof designed by Scott Torrance Landscape Architects for Toronto's ESRI building where employees can relax but also have meetings. There's an indepth look at its construction at Greenroofs.com with lots more photos.
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Monday posts are sponsored by garden2office, the Swedish garden office specialists.Click here for more details.