According to a study in 2016 by the TUC (Trade Union's Congress), a national trade union centre in the UK that represents the vast majority of organized workers, a staggering quarter of a million (241,000) more people work from home than a decade ago. So we decided to go undercover and take a snoop around some home offices to find out more.
This week, we caught up with Jamie Anderson, a 33 year old part-time Barman and Author in East London.
Where is your workplace?
At the minute, I divide my time between shifts in a bar to working from home. Both my job roles go from one extreme to another. The bar (as you can imagine) is very social and busy but back in my home office it's a place of tranquility, where I get my writing head on. But, it's good to have a mix of the two extremes, too much of one of them would be quite stressful I think.
How do you feel about more people working from home?
Why not, that's what I say? Does it matter where you work, as long as you get your work done? It's good to see the shift of more people having the flexibility to work from home. A lot of my friends say they're much more productive when they work from home than the office which can only be a good thing for employers. Personally, for me bar work means I have to be there but in terms of writing I couldn't do it anywhere else except from the comfort of my own home.
Which room is your home office in?
In the flat I'm renting I have a nice wooden dining table that seats six so I have transformed it from dining table to my office space! Plus, there's plenty of space to spread all my books, magazines and writing material on. Dining tables are so overrated.
What does your home office look like?
It's pretty simple, like I said it's actually the dining table. I also have a radio and wireless speaker for my Spotify playlists for times when I need a distraction.
What's in your home office?
Piles and piles of reading material. A notepad to scribble down ideas and of course, what every writer needs - an Apple laptop,
Was it easy to organise the space?
Yeah, I don't really need much because I just use the length of the dining table to house everything on. As long as I can find what I need then that's the main thing. In my mind that's organisation.
How tidy is your home office?
Errrrrm! I wouldn't say it's tidy. I guess it's erring on the side of messy. I have a lot of reading material and flit from book to book so everything tends to get a little mixed up.
Do you share your home office?
Are you kidding? No way! Wherever a writer puts his hat, that's his territory marked and no one else is allowed.
How do you plan your day?
It's actually quite difficult. Because of the bar, I am led by shift work but sometimes when people don't go in, I have to be on call. But, I do try and read or write for a few hours a day, it's important to me. No two days are ever the same.
Complete the sentence...'I love my home office because....?
It's my personal space and it's a place where I can enjoy what I like doing the most - writing!