Home Office Reimagined

Pre-COVID, only about 10-15 percent of homes had dedicated office space. Now, that number is closer to 75 percent. What do remote workers want in a home office?

The pandemic has ushered in a new era of remote working. According to COGNITION Smart Data, nearly 75 percent of Americans who have been able to work remotely in the era of COVID say that they don’t want to return to an office full time. 32 percent of those respondents claim that they never want to go back to an office, and 23 percent indicate that they want to work from home at least three to four days per week.

COGNITION also reveals that remote workers want more than just a kitchen table and chair to work from. They want a place where they can feel comfortable—because they’re going to be spending a lot of time there.

Home office remodeling projects are at an all-time high, as remote workers move out of kitchens and living rooms and into dedicated spaces that optimize productivity.

Some key factors that homeowners are considering when redesigning home offices include:

• Purpose, Location and Size: Homeowners take into consideration the type of work that will be done in workspaces to determine if the home office should be designed to accommodate calls and virtual meetings, or if it should dedicated quiet spaces for more focused work.
• Storage: Clean spaces enhance productivity, so one of the most in-demand home office features is adequate storage to reduce clutter.
• Connectivity: Connectivity issues are real—and extremely frustrating, so homeowners are locating offices in areas with the best possible Wi-Fi access, avoiding “dead zones.”
• Adequate Lighting: Well-lit spaces are paramount for optimized creativity, and consumers are opening up spaces and adding windows wherever possible to allow as much natural light as possible. Circadian lighting, or lighting that changes color and intensity to match biorhythms with the day of time and season of the year, is also on the rise.
• Ventilation: COVID has unveiled the ugly truth that viruses, bacteria, and other toxins are airborne, making all of us super cognizant of indoor air. Homeowners are now going to great lengths to enhance fresh air exchange and natural airflow through the use of ERVs, filters, IAQ monitors, and other ventilation and purification technologies in home offices.
• Modern Design: Sleek design and uncluttered spaces are en vogue for office spaces.
• Color Scheme: While many homeowners don’t veer far from the safety of off-white, beige, and grey, some homeowners are embracing color to brighten up office spaces and make them more personalized, utilizing stronger tones that have been scientifically proven to promote clear thought or softer hues to calm the mind and aid concentration.

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COGNITION Smart Data offers advanced intelligence and insights about market trends and important customer information like behavioral patterns, purchase drivers, buying preferences and sentiment.  COGNITION enables clients to make informed business decisions, yielding specific deliverables and tangible results.  COGNITION provides a definitive competitive advantage by allowing companies to stay a step ahead of their competitors.

For more information on how you can tap into the power of COGNITION Smart Data, visit www.greenbuildermedia.com/cognition or contact Sara Gutterman at sara.gutterman@greenbuildermedia.com.