With 13% of people in the UK now working from home and 60% of employees forecasted to join them in a decade, what can be done to avoid feelings of isolation?
If you’re working from home you’re living the dream right? You have the flexibility to work around your other life commitments. No more 9 to 5 – you choose your hours. No more commuting – you don’t even need to leave the house. No distractions. It’s just you and your rules.
So, how’s this work life balance working out for you?
Like 5.4 million other people in the UK, I work from home and have done, on and off, for over 10 years. I work for myself and love it. I love the freedom it gives me. I don’t have to deal with office politics and I can work to suit my creativity at different times of the day for the greatest results. It sounds perfect doesn’t it but I’m going to be honest here: it’s not.
Don’t get me wrong; I wouldn’t change my work set-up for anything but I do miss the interaction you get from working in an office. Socialising keeps my brain active and I don’t mean social media either. In fact, that’s a whole other challenge right there, which I’ll file under procrastination for now. What I miss is real, face-to-face conversation with someone other than my dog.
Ironically, I’m not alone in feeling lonely and, according to research conducted by Brigham Young University (and recently reported in the Guardian), this could be bad for my health too.
Brigham found that sociability is linked to mortality. Those with stronger social relationships have a 50% increased likelihood of survival. Low sociability can be as damaging to the human body as being obese, smoking 15 cigarettes a day or never exercising.
Take what you will from those statistics but I know personally that social interaction does make a real difference to my wellbeing, creativity and, interestingly, my productivity.
What’s the solution then if I don’t want to go back into full time employment and I’m not a huge fan of networking? Well, I have found a way to enjoy the best of both worlds and the answer lies in ‘work hubs’.
Work hubs have been quietly popping up in and around towns in the UK and, with local government supporting the initiatives as a way to create a greener economy, these co-working spaces are becoming very popular.
What’s a work hub? Work hubs are workspaces offering desks and shared facilities such as printers, photocopiers, tea, coffee and broadband, which can be booked as and when needed. Perfect for mobile/remote workers, small businesses, nomadic freelancers and home workers, these hubs can act as a professional front to a home business offering the use of meeting rooms and virtual addresses.
The FunkBunk, the local work hub just outside Wing, Leighton Buzzard, stops me going mad on my own at home. When I find myself feeling cut off, unmotivated, distracted by unimportant household chores like sorting through the under stairs cupboard, I pop in to the ‘Bunk for a sanity check. It’s informal, friendly and flexible. I go in when I want and leave when I want. I can talk to people if I’m in the mood, or I can just work there quietly in the company of others. It makes such a difference to my output and discipline, and reignites my enthusiasm and focus like nothing else I’ve tried. If it’s true what they say about health and socialising, I guess visiting the Funkbunk is like a gym membership for my brain. The hardest thing is getting out and going there but it’s worth it when you do.
With the summer storms well and truly upon us, don’t you wish you could avoid the flash flood soaking and just stay indoors the 30 seconds it takes for the storm to pass?
Well in a true ‘show n tell’ style resident FunkBunker Gary Loosley of SIGA Vision bought in his latest project, the Lightning Detector Mk5! This amazing looking contraption can pick up lightning strikes happening up to 300 miles away and display the strength of the strike and direction it is in. So avoid getting frazzled and don’t go out without checking it first!
Gary designed and built the device from the ground up and has an LCD display planned for Mk6 which will show the approximate distance to the strike in miles and further information on the lighting strength. Google Map showing the strikes coming soon?
Every Monday at FunkBunk, the local Howe and Co’s Fish and Chip saloon visits FunkBunk at around 12.30. So get yourself down here for the tastiest fish and chips in the area!
This weekend past, I read an article in the newspaper about the recent sale of Tweetdeck to Twitter for a deal worth $40 million. One of the things that enabled Tweetdeck as a business to get to this position was the collective consciousness they had from sharing a building with bunch of other entrepreneurs.
It meant that they were able to share in the buzz, the atmosphere and the collective business and creative experience of all the other individuals in that space. The space became known as the Silicon Roundabout and has become an attractive proposition for investors from Silicon Valley looking for a UK base.
We’re not saying that we are the next Silicon Roundabout but every resident at FunkBunk benefits from being part of a collective that is stronger than it’s individuals alone. I hear ideas being discussed everyday that have the potential to be the next Tweetdeck. Just by working in the same space there is inspiration all around and the resource to make the ideas come to life.
For those sick of shuffling from coffee shop to coffee shop, struggling to get a wi-fi connection, working in isolation and struggling to kickstart their ideas, places like FunkBunk are definitely the way forward.
What is coworking we hear you all cry! Well maybe not cry, but we do get asked this question a fair bit. The simple answer is: Working with others in a space like a workhub. Somewhere just like FunkBunk.
But why take our word for it? The clever guys at Coworking Toronto have come up with this great cartoon that explains it pretty much perfectly. Go for it Paul and Sandra!
Blimey its spring already and I have yet again neglected our blog. I did somehow manage to find five minutes to write one for the WorkHubs website so if you fancy reading that click here. Also had 2 minutes early this morning to photograph the amazing blossom that is on the trees next to our entrance. Click here for a large version of the pic.
Business has also been blossoming in the Bunk so far in 2011. FunkBunk residents Hallway Studios and Purity Productions have both expanded employing more staff, taking more desks and bringing with them a great vibrant feel to the studios here. FunkBunk also welcomes two new full time additions to the open plan co-working space:
Graphic Designer, Stu Bradley has chosen FunkBunk as his base of operations for his design business BobbyFlash. Stu has been flat out since arriving and is already working on new and exciting projects with fellow FunkBunkers Purity.
DGS Construction are a sustainable homes, renovation and building project firm who work throughout the UK on pioneering and exciting construction projects. Matt Stewart has chosen the environment here at FunkBunk to base the office side of their business from, and we are very happy to have him on board!
FunkBunk founders Provide Design and early residents SIGA Vision continue to go from strength to strength with signs looking great for the rest of 2011.
With all this work, there barely seems to be time to blog, but with the lighter days and warmer weather may come renewed writing ability!
We blogged some time ago with some design ideas for the glass on our new meeting room at FunkBunk. Your opinions were unanimous and the colourful design #1 was the option preferred by everyone.
It did present some printing challenges though as high quality print on to frosted vinyl is a fairly specialist activity. Our suppliers pulled through in fine style though and colourful privacy can now be had when taking part in meetings at the ‘Bunk.
We are currently working on some virtual office packages for those wishing to use FunkBunk as a business base on paper. Some of these packages will include use of the meeting room, as it is the perfect place to bring your clients. As soon as we have all the details together we will post them up here.
Just kidding, although this awesome tree we received as an early Christmas card kicks of the seasonal decorations at FunkBunk, not be outdone by Purity Productions in the room next door we have a something special planned for our tree.
In other news, 02 and Vodafone users at FunkBunk are soon to be getting a major boost in the their mobile signal strength. All things going to plan, our new internal transmitter should mean no flaky signal for 02 users when inside the building.
Also, a couple of local business men have made their new years resolutions early and said they will be joining us full time at FunkBunk in January. We will post more info on these two businesses in the new year but we are looking forward to having them here and excited to see how they use the ‘Bunk to propel their businesses forward.
Every time I’m at a networking event of any type I always bump into people who say “Yeah I’ve heard of FunkBunk!” which is great considering we’ve never placed an advert before. We now want everyone we bump into to say they’ve heard of us so keep an eye out in your local press for adverts that look this. The adverts will feature a code on them which will make you eligible for a nice 10% discount on our services.
Keep an eye out for ‘pajama boy’ in your local parish magazines, newsletters and newspapers.
The blog and tweets have been a little quiet of late. We have been mourning the loss of of a great man, without whom, FunkBunk would not have been possible.
Laurence Cranwell was in effect the Father of FunkBunk. It is his buildings that FunkBunk resides in and it was down to his generosity, craftsmanship and pure hard work that FunkBunk was turned from a set of old storage barns and workshops into the gleaming palace of a workhub that it is today.
Laurence, Laurie, Louis or whatever you knew him as, was a skilled carpenter by trade and ran his bespoke kitchen business Cranwell Kitchens from the workshops next door to FunkBunk. He leaves Glebe Close Farm where FunkBunk is based to his family who vow to continue the successful running of the site.
Glebe Close Farm, near Wing Village on the Bedfordshire / Buckinghamshire border (inbetween Aylesbury and Milton Keynes) has belonged to the Cranwell Family since the close of the Second World War. Glebe Close Farm was an active Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) site during the war with hundreds of people living and working within its buildings and supporting the local airfield. The Cranwells ran the ex-military site as a dairy farm then Laurence started his kitchen business here in 1977 and rescued the site and its buildings from falling into the ground, rebuilding and renovating over the next 33 years.
Laurence passed away suddenly after being diagnosed with a rare blood/plasma disease called AL Amyloidosis. It was a shock to all that knew him and he will be sorely missed by all.
He was never sure about the name ‘FunkBunk’… But like all of us, was a true ‘Bunker’ at heart.
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The blog and tweets have been a little quiet of late. We have been mourning the loss of of a great man, without whom, FunkBunk would not have been possible.
