The World of Hybrid Work: Setting Up a Multi-Purpose Space

By Scott Shpak for REALTOR.ca



The mandatory work-from-home trend is behind us, but it introduced workers and employers alike to the pros and cons of home-based employment. The headlines today show returning to the office is the new paradigm for many. But there is an option that meets somewhere in the middle…


Say hello to the world of hybrid work, combining home and business offices for those who don’t want to fully lose the connection with home-based work. The hybrid home office may now actually be a priority, a compromise between full-time work spaces and the improvised dining room table that functions in a pinch.



 

Working mostly from home: the numbers

Perhaps the biggest surprise about the post-lockdown transition is, according to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians reporting they do most of their work from home climbed slightly between April 2020 and January 2022. However, surrounding these spikes is a slowly declining work-from-home percentage.

 

Statistics Canada also reports hybrid work is on the rise. Defined as the ability to work in part from home and in part at another location, in the Labour Force Survey of October 2022, hybrid workers accounted for about 9% of workers in the country, or more than 1.7 million people—up 5.4% from the start of 2022. That same study showed the share of workers usually working exclusively from home was 15.8%, down 8.5% from the beginning of the year. Putting these two groups together means there are a lot of Canadians who would benefit from having a proper work-from-home setup.



 

The needs of a hybrid office

Not everyone can justify dedicating a room that’s used, perhaps, 16 to 24 hours per week to one sole purpose. That’s a utilization rate of about 14%. Most people need more from their home space.


Defining the needs of the hybrid office may help you develop shared space that doesn’t compromise your professional life without the need for exclusive-use space. Key needs typically include: 

• exclusive daytime use—separate from the activities and noises of the household;
• a professional setting as a backdrop for online meetings;
• room for the necessary home office tools and materials (computer, copier, files, etc.); and
• space for an ergonomic arrangement of work components.
  
  
  
  
   

Exclusive use

 

If everyone else in your household is away during your work hours, you’ve got it made! At least until school holidays start, perhaps. The demands of your role at work define the level of isolation you need. If you routinely make calls where silence and limited distractions are required, you’ll need walls and doors that exclusively email-based communications do not. 

 

Your office may serve as an after-hours homework depot for the elementary and high school crowd, but you can’t expect the same structure from college and university students. 

 

Things to consider adding: 

 

• partitions or room dividers to create an exclusive space, and close off any distractions; and
• rules, or schedules for office use, which are discussed and shared with other members of the household.
  
  
  
   

Professional setting

 

Remote video meetings are a professional fact of life, another reason why you need a home office that’s not an afterthought. Perhaps you have a library wall that shows well on a webcam. You can reduce the demands on your primary workspace, especially if it’s a closet office, by designating a meeting “set” that retains its home functions outside of video calls. There’s nothing that says your office is restricted to a single location within your home; keep these ideas in mind as you face the client, whether in person or on camera. 

 

Things to consider adding: 

 

• additional webcams for top-quality video; 
• a ring light or lamp for proper video call lighting;
• an eye for set dressing;
• a green screen or easy backdrop that can be moved as needed when not using the space; or
• an uncluttered background so people aren’t distracted.
  
  
  
   

Room for office equipment

 

In a hybrid work arrangement, there might not be a need for your home office to mirror its corporate cousin, particularly where expensive specialized equipment is concerned. Save the 50-page report for the collating copier on your next visit to the office.

 

Consider your need for equipment and tools in the home office. What are the necessities and what are the nice-to-haves? Can you keep your printer in the basement if you only use it once a week? Optimizing desk space will help things feel less cluttered, and make it less restricting when trying to use the room for other purposes.

 

Things to consider doing: 

 

• Relocate items that work elsewhere or that aren’t used daily. 
• Purchase collapsible or multi-use furniture that can move as needed.
• Create designated sections for how you’ll use the room (school supplies on one side, office supplies on the other).
  
  
  
  
   

Ergonomic considerations

 

Anyone who remembers the sore back they had from their first all-day laptop session on the couch knows the importance of ergonomics. In fact, your entire home benefits from ergonomic awareness. Anytime your body uses equipment, there’s a risk of injury, great or small. 

 

The basics are things like chair position, monitor height, keyboard level, and these are things you can’t leave only for the corporate office. The simplest inefficiencies of biomechanical movement could lead to unwanted downtime. (Before doing this yourself, check to see if your company offers an at-home ergonomic assessment. If not, consider having one independently; after all, you want to make sure where you’re situated for most of the day isn’t adding strain to your muscles, joints and tendons.)

 

Things to consider adding:

 

• ergonomically sound office chair and table; and
• peripheral computer equipment you can use comfortably.
  
  
  
  
   

Other things to consider

 

Multipurpose rooms can be extremely valuable, especially if you’re in a smaller space or only need to be using your office part time. In addition to the above, consider:

 

• How quick can the space be set up? If your work can be a bit unpredictable, opting for movable or collapsible furniture for when you’re not using the office could prove a bit tricky when you do need to make a call.
• Where do your pets like to hang out? Though your coworkers will rarely complain if they see Fido in the background, your boss or clients may not be as inclined to see your dog chewing a bone or your cat using the litter box.
• Will the other uses affect how you use the office? For example, will your kids’ toys be in the background of a call if you’re making it a play space? Will there be glitter and glue left around if it’s a craft room? Will someone else be leaving sticky notes along your computer monitor for their own reminders?
  
   

Your hybrid office may no longer be full-time, but it remains crucial to your job. Increasingly, hybrid is a work mode that’s entrenching itself, so the home office continues its evolution, finding its own work/life balance, just as you did. 


 

Scott’s Shpak article was initially published on REALTOR.ca.  You can find it by clicking here. 

Thanks for reading today’s BLOG!!!

Brian Kondo
Sales Representative / Team Leader
The Brian Kondo Real Estate Team
Re/Max Hallmark First Group Realty Ltd.
905-683-7800 office
905-426-7484 direct
brian@briankondo.com
www.BrianKondo.com
www.BrianKondoTeam.com

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