On Nick Usborne's Home Office Productivity blog Debra Helwig talks about how her home office is in fact a Herman Miller cubicle in her cellar. For those of you not familiar with Mr Miller's work, he is the 'genius' who in 1968 invented what he called the 'open-plan office furniture system' (cubicle to us) known as the Action Office system. You can read more about the various updated versions of it, one of which is pictured here, at Thomas Interior Systems.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Working from home in a, er, cubicle
On Nick Usborne's Home Office Productivity blog Debra Helwig talks about how her home office is in fact a Herman Miller cubicle in her cellar. For those of you not familiar with Mr Miller's work, he is the 'genius' who in 1968 invented what he called the 'open-plan office furniture system' (cubicle to us) known as the Action Office system. You can read more about the various updated versions of it, one of which is pictured here, at Thomas Interior Systems.
Avoid 11 days of congestion
According to Company Car Driver (and they should know), the average company car driver spends 11 days a year stuck in congestion. Their joint report with the RAC reveals that:
* congestion takes up five hours of a company car driver's time each week
* 40% of company car drivers want more encouragement to work from home
* 25% would like to see more flexible working hours to help them avoid congestion.
Rather more worrying, the report also said that 10% of company car drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel. Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Too much time is wasted sitting in traffic jams. Companies and drivers need to get smarter to avoid congestion." Jeremy Bennett, editor of CCD, added: “The survey results suggest that too many company car drivers are under too much pressure and perhaps some could avoid congestion by making more use of the super highway rather than sitting in jams on the real highway.”
* congestion takes up five hours of a company car driver's time each week
* 40% of company car drivers want more encouragement to work from home
* 25% would like to see more flexible working hours to help them avoid congestion.
Rather more worrying, the report also said that 10% of company car drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel. Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Too much time is wasted sitting in traffic jams. Companies and drivers need to get smarter to avoid congestion." Jeremy Bennett, editor of CCD, added: “The survey results suggest that too many company car drivers are under too much pressure and perhaps some could avoid congestion by making more use of the super highway rather than sitting in jams on the real highway.”
Are you a data jockey or an urban unitasker?
A new report from Microsoft and The Future Laboratory looks at the future of work (which seems to be an increasingly popular bandwagon theme). As well as discussing what they call 'work-life blending' where amateurs with professional levels of ability become a growing part of the workforce, they also suggest four different kinds of 21st century mobile or 'transcorporate' workers, complete with usual barmy names. These are:
• Data jockeys: the under 25s who spend all their time with new technology, but as the report puts it bluntly, "have yet to learn to translate data into insight"
• Urban unitaskers: thirty and fortysomethings who can see advantages in working at home but like working by themselves rather than collaborating, concentrating on doing one thing well rather than multitasking
• Digital artisans: workers who are very keen indeed on the white heat of technology and using it in a creative and ethical way, sharing their knowledge freely and happily
• High-wire walkers: those who like a bit of security and a decent pension and are a bit unsure about a 'flexible future'
I've found it very hard tracking down the report but you can download it from Jason Langridge's blog here.
• Data jockeys: the under 25s who spend all their time with new technology, but as the report puts it bluntly, "have yet to learn to translate data into insight"
• Urban unitaskers: thirty and fortysomethings who can see advantages in working at home but like working by themselves rather than collaborating, concentrating on doing one thing well rather than multitasking
• Digital artisans: workers who are very keen indeed on the white heat of technology and using it in a creative and ethical way, sharing their knowledge freely and happily
• High-wire walkers: those who like a bit of security and a decent pension and are a bit unsure about a 'flexible future'
I've found it very hard tracking down the report but you can download it from Jason Langridge's blog here.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Choosing a shed – Maison d’etre Properties
Garden Studio sheds are produced by Maison d’etre Properties, husband and wife team Kevin and Anne Holliday. It's a nice web site, a good advertisement for the attractiveness of garden offices, and you can also download a useful information pack from the site. The studio comes with asphalt roof tiles from Canada and an interesting roof structure, a copper cupola which mellows into the soft verdigris of aged copper. Every office comes with smoke detector (linked to the main house if you have a wired-in system), radio-controlled burglar alarm, telephone point, convector heater, chrome spot lights, outside light and power point.
Two Minute Commute blog
The American Two Minute Commute blog is an interesting place to have a look around, its mission statement: "2minute commute is dedicated to provide you with different home based business ideas, lots of tips, and resources you might find interesting to assist you in developing and expanding your home based business." Recent posts of interest have looked at Home Office versus Commercial Space and home business case studies.
General space saving
One of the biggest problems with working from home is fitting everything in. While the DoubleSpace kitchenette from Vestal isn't strictly a piece of home office furniture, it does mean you'd have more space to fit in your desk (if you click through to the web site, there is a nice animation of the metamorphosis). And I bet nobody else you know has a chair which turns into a cooker with two electric burners (which are automatically disabled when it's in chair mode). As Vestal so rightly say: "You'll never sit and cook at the same time." Genius.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tax self-assessment - strike looming...
It's looking like the Public and Commercial Services Union will stage a national strike on January 31. The HM Revenue & Customs site says: "We will do everything we can to maintain our services to the public and business. Our advice to self assessment taxpayers is the same as it is every year - file early before the 31 January deadline and make payment online if possible. Paper returns can be delivered to any HMRC office and we will do all we can to open our Enquiry Centres to receive returns. A taxpayer or their agent who finds it impossible to file by 31 Jan due to the industrial action should file as soon as possible on the following day. On-line services will not be affected (I filed mine online this year for the first time and it was remarkably quick and easy - I paid online too)." Whether this could mean fines for those filing 'late' is discussed at The Insitute of Chartered Accountant's web site here.
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