How do you accommodate WFH in your house?

[Houseplantmad]

Another thread referring to a couple who both work from home prompted this. I walk to work locally and pass many houses where I see people working from home, often in what look like makeshift conditions. Now that WFH has become permanent for so many people I'm wondering how it works as I'm not sure I'd be happy to have to give a room over to a home office. Do employers provide equipment so people can work comfortably - what if you don't have room?

I’ve worked from home one day a week since going back after my first maternity leave. I did years of it at the dining table or from bed in our london flat and when we moved and bought a bigger place one bedroom was absolutely a permanent study/office. Especially with children home at the same time, I look at current house plans wiht the ‘study nook’ that’s become so popular and think you’d be an idiot to build a study area without closed doors if you are trying to work with other people home. My employer during lockdowns provided a large screen (they may want this back) and a few hundred £ for buying equipment so I have a good new office chair which is great.

I've been working in my son's bedroom while he's at school. It's awful. I'm getting a garden office built as will be permanently WFH.

We have both always WFH or studied in some capacity requiring dedicated space to do so; when we bought this house we specifically chose one that would allow us to have an office each on separate floors (having shared before for years and found ourselves completely incompatible, he’s a neat quiet worker, and I’m a loud, organised chaos, music on worker who battles ADHD). I think the crux of this surround the fact we’re both introverts who like to work from home, choose roles that allow us to do so at least most of the time, and in addition I need privacy in my role to undertake clinical consultations and would find it incredibly annoying to be having to move around the house all the time to find somewhere private. So in that sense, we don’t begrudge needing to dedicate space to our work, because WFH is what we actually want rather than having had it imposed on us against our will.

Both have work laptops, rest of home based equipment is provided by ourselves as we like a two screen set up each with laptop alongside and also didn’t want to duplicate equipment we already have for our business.

DP works in the second bedroom that has a desk (he has lots of calls). I work on the living room table still (few calls).

He comes in at lunch. He's not allowed to drink loudly or play music but can watch TV.

Works for us.

Oh and we've been given computers but we bought our own desks, chairs etc. I get no money for it. Didn't even get a bonus this year.

And as for people who don't have the money for it.... I have colleagues working from their childhood bedrooms or in their beds. Employers don't give a shit about their workers.

I work from home 80% of the time now and after the first 18 months of Covid I bit the bullet and converted my spare bedroom into a proper office. I no longer have a spare bedroom but it's a better use of space and has transformed my wfh life. My employer provided us all with equipment.

We at least have plenty of space but our set up is still not ideal. I have a desk set up in the attic spare room with all my equipment from work. We could take everything home from work in Mar 2020 but I chose to buy my own desk and chair (a more attractive but expensive option). I like having my office away from the rest of the house but trouble is when (lovely) MIL comes to visit for a few weeks at a time and I then lose my office and have to rearrange things.

DHs work gave them money for a chair but he didn't take screens etc home from work so he's still working on a tiny laptop, I bought him a mouse and keyboard and laptop stand but he likes moving about the house. There's a small desk in the sitting room and a bigger one in both the spare room with me and the playroom but he likes working on the dining table in the kitchen or in our bedroom .

It must be hard for young people, especially with home size and power bills.

Our children have left home so we have two spare double rooms. One is a guest room and the other a study.

My husband made a fixed double in the study with storage under. So that's all my sons stuff sorted, and it's a bedroom if we need it. Then rest is a long workspace and shelves. I'm lucky. It's perfect. And my husband has an outdoors practical job, so he can't WFH.

I've worked partially at home for years. Started at one day and was up to 3 pre covid.

In the 1 day a week time I would just use a lap tray on the sofa however around 6 years ago had a loft conversion so my bedroom is about 25ft long and the end under the eaves works perfectly as an office space.

I have a proper desk and chair, second screen (I did splash out on a bigger one about 18 months ago) speaker for calls etc.

It's a perfect area - although it's in the bedroom it's at the end so doesn't intrude and it's also on its own floor so a bit of space from when children are home.

I have always done hybrid working so we deliberately bought a house with a downstairs office space. That room is kitted out with a monitor and laptop stand (my own) and a docking station, keyboard and chair (expensed via DH’s work.)

When DH wfh as well, he’s on the dining room table, although we are debating getting one of the upstairs spare bedrooms turned into a second office space.

I worked from home before the pandemic, so have a permanent office set up with a sit/stand desk, office chair and other office furniture. I provided the furniture, work provided the IT and did a health and safety review.

My husband worked from the dining table during lockdown, but it wasn’t convenient having to move all of his work stuff to eat, so he’s now taken over the spare room. We put a sofa bed in the playroom for when we have guests to make up for the lost space. It works well for us, I like that we can both close the door on work, and it doesn’t encroach too much on our family life.

My husband has WFH for the last 7 years, the company he worked for before now paid for us to have a garden office built. I have a corner desk in the living room which is mine in the daytime and sons to do his homework in the evening.

We all WFH, not a Covid thing, we have always worked from home, 4 adults, DH & I from our bespoke garden room. Our DS’ from their bedrooms. Keeps all our living space free. Works great for our family.

Both wfh most of the time, either end of the dining table in the only reception room. Far from ideal but we cope, there is no other space. School holidays are a challenge though...

Dh has worked from our dining table for the last 2 years. I don’t wfh but when forced to by Covid, when ds2 had it and more recently when i had it, I work on the sofa or the bed. Less than ideal but average sized house is full.

Were buying a bigger house to accommodate it. I’ve always WFH but only “need” a laptop so I’m currently at the kitchen table – need a home office so I can have a proper chair and a sofa for work naps and reading and some nice wallpaper and DP is in the box room with his apparently oh-so necessary 8,000 screens and hard drives. When he goes into the office he has none of this and somehow manages to work on just a laptop 🧐

I used to work in the bedroom but it affected my sleep. Don’t want a desk set-up in the sitting room as DD would just play with my stuff. So bigger house it is: somewhere with a fourth bedroom to be a spare/office, and a big enough garden to accommodate a home office.

During the lockdowns I worked at the kitchen table on a laptop. I muddled through but ended up having back and shoulder issues, which I've spent a huge amount on at the Osteopath.

Last year I changed jobs and can work from home as much as I like, regardless of covid. So, I invested in a desk and proper chair and have set it up in the corner of the spare room. Work have provided a large monitor and keyboard. Ideally I'd like a second monitor but at the moment it's doable. I generally do 2 days at home. I like having the best of both.

DH and I are both self-employed and work from home most of the time. I have an office in one of the spare bedrooms and he works at the dining table.

We live in central Edinburgh so there’s always a coffee shop or workspace to go to if either of us fancies a change of scene.

Having that option to go out is very important to us, and one of the reasons why we’re in the middle of the city. I couldn’t handle wfh from the spare room 100% of the time.

My husband is now WFH permanently - but we already had an office downstairs so that’s been made his. His company provide anything he needs inc. chair, desk etc. And will upgrade/update anything as needed.

I quit my day job recently and have a desk in the corner of a spare room upstairs. It’s easier not being on the same floor!

I’ve got a small desk in the corner of the living room with trailing wires because for security reasons no WiFi. I hate having my personal space look like work area so moved everything to a nook under the stairs. But then I felt like I was in a dark windowless prison.

I’d rather see my work set-up than hide in a box. The best view is from the dining table but I loathed that space being taken up and it was visible from every part of the room.

I’m bugging the community council to set up a co-working or office spaces at the local industrial park for nominal rent.

During pandemiv we had a desk in our bedroom as kids were home
Now i work wfh with occasional trip to office
We have a lounge diner and never use the dining table as have a dining room from an extension. I have a desk chair and screen but have chosen not to use it as it is massive and takes over table so use a riser instead. On weekends it packs away into a box under the table so have space back.
I love it theyll drag me back to office kicking and screaming though used to wfh 50% of time anyway so would never go back FT

The box room is my office. It's set up properly with a desk and chair. I use a laptop, monitor, printer and mobile provided by my company.

Our bedroom is very large so DH has a sit/stand workstation set up at one end, we don't find it intrusive and none of our bedroom furniture etc is on view in calls.

We both love WFH and feel it's worth.sacrificing some living space to avoid the commute.

I started a 100% WFH position in early 2021, was staying with a friend at the time and my desk was in my bedroom - hated it. Now have my own place, desk was originally in living room but again I hated it, no separation of work and home (hated the job too so that didn't help). Now have swapped bedrooms and put desk in bigger one. So much better - can shut the door on work of an evening. I've also changed to a much better job and am out of the house either in the office or on visits at least twice a week. Mental health is vastly improved.

I'm househunting at the moment and am ideally looking for a three bed to accommodate an office, or a sufficiently large garden to put a garden office in.

We are lucky enough to have space for each of us to have our own room as an office.