Concept of the month February 2017: Out-of-home workplace
For nine consecutive years I have been working for myself now. Over the years, I have increasingly become able to cherry-pick assignments that I know I will enjoy. Another thing I have always considered very important, is the possibility to work from home. In my private life, however, a lot more has changed during those nine years. This means that the time has come to occasionally leave the nest for work as well, making space for my girl and the little ones. As my RSI-prone limbs are not suitable for spending an entire day arching my back seated at a wobbly table in a pub or a library, I went out to search and quickly found a out-of-home workplace.
The differences between my out-of-home workplace and the one I have at home are mainly of an aesthetic nature. This is because there are strangers present. At home, I can I can pay a long visit to the toilet leaving the door open at any time of the day or wear a bathrobe in front of my screen. Or filthy clothes after dropping our children off at their place to work.
So now I am working at a place that’s a five-minute bike ride away from home one day a week. Here, I have a better desk, the internet connection is better, and I apply a better work ethic than at home. For although no one is urging me, I feel like the others present at this office –usually three guys from a staffing agency- expect me to get on with my work. Obviously, this is no place to watch football highlights, play Wordfeud, or look at holiday snaps. It is a place to work. Is it a place to write a blog, though? It is now.
The short bike ride over here is pleasant. The others are quiet and friendly. I get a lot of work done here. I didn’t expect I would enjoy working away from home, even if it is only one day a week. I considered myself lucky to be able to work from home and avoid the stranglehold of a mandatory daily commute and long hours confined to an office.
Now, I seem to have the best of both worlds. I can work as hard as I want here and do it entirely the way I prefer. That is worth something. Mind you, this place is not my office, it is not my job, it is not my employer. I am glad that those things are at home. I think that is the reason I can enjoy my out-of-home workplace.
