Working from home & entertaining outdoors

Hoping so much that we’ll be out of lockdown soon and that life will return to normal; and let’s face it, I think we all DESPERATELY need a holiday! We’re dreaming of beaches and oceans and sunshine…ahhh! We’ve all changed because of Covid. We hope that for you, this change has not equaled illness of bereavement. But it has made all of us take stock of our lives. A quick poll here in the office revealed that we each know at least one person who has now taken the decision to permanently work from home. A hairdresser friend has decided to set up a home salon rather than maintain rent on her high street premises. An automotive designer has set up a fantastic office in his garden, reminiscent of a gentleman’s club. Another friend in the IT sector who commuted to London every day prior to March 2020, was asked by his (large) employer if he would like to continue to work remotely in the future. He said yes, and told us; ‘I asked them what everyone else in the company had decided; there are about 150 of us usually in the Holborn office. At that stage, every staff member had replied that they wanted to work from home. It’s going to dramatically impact the landscape of the commercial centers in all towns and cities, but things change and there are massive benefits to employees, to employers and to the environment.’ Working from home isn’t for everyone. For some, the practicalities just don’t work and many people prefer to work surrounded by colleagues. But there has been a huge shift in numbers of people who want to make working from home a permanent move. Saving time and money on their commute has provided huge benefits to many and those two benefits alone can reduce stress significantly. It has also, mostly, proved to employers that they will get great work from staff when they are at home. They are not ‘skiving’. In fact, because there are fewer distractions and no urgent need to catch a train the working day becomes flexible, with extra hours being put in when a project needs to be completed. The restrictions we’ve all faced have also impacted on how and where we spend out leisure time. The great outdoors has become a panacea for the mental health issues suffered by so many during lockdown. Fresh air and being close to nature has never been more critical to our wellbeing than it is now. People have found ways to eat outdoors and stay dry and (relatively) warm even during less than balmy weather. Plus, for some time now we’ve had restrictions lifted enough that we can see a limited number of friends if we stay outside. Restaurants and pubs have been able to re-open, so long as they serve customers outside. We believe that this will have a long-term effect on how people like to entertain, even when Covid is just a bad, distant memory. If you live in the south east quadrant of England, and would like to know more about garden offices and rooms, and high-quality contemporary sail shades, please contact Chapelstone Outdoors today on 01206 274500 or email enquiries@chapelstone.co.uk