WEIRD WEDNESDAY: Pod People At Work

There is a new mobile workplace concept being tested in the U.K. called the OfficePOD, “The Ultimate Mobile Working Solution.” Debuted this past April at Grand Designs Live, London, the POD offers a cost effective, practical, and efficient way for home working. The OfficePOD is a modern office, which can even be positioned in a garden and is packaged as a complete outsourcing solution for employers.

Businesses and employers can provide their employees with a state of the art work-from-home facility, which comes with a full service contract for only £5,000 ($8,500 U.S.) a year per employee. Installations are expected to start early next year.

Recent research shows a big increase in working from home with nearly one-third (30%) of workers spending time working from home each month. YouGov, in a poll, found that “ad-hoc homeworkers” clocked up an average of nearly 16 hours working from home each month. More than half (55%) said they worked from home to achieve peace and quiet away from their colleagues, while 48% enjoyed the flexibility of home working.

The current economic climate means that employers and small business managers are also looking at ways to reduce costs and working overheads, while other employers look to use employee time more efficiently by avoiding time commuting to and from work.

Unlike the normal at home working environment, often full of distractions, the OfficePOD creates a working space that can be removed from existing home or living space, creating a peaceful environment without the usual distractions.

The new OfficePOD Workplace offers:

  • Full service to include site survey, enabling work, installation, help desk/customer support, relocation, and removal.
  • Five year service contract with employer (includes furniture and finishes).
  • Configurations suitable for upper and middle management as well as call center employees.
  • CO2 reduction of between 46% and 67% per office based employee, based on reduced commutation hours.
  • Incremental (1 POD at a time) growth. POD can be relocated if employee moves/leaves. POD’s are installed within 12 weeks and removed within eight weeks.
  • The OfficePOD provides a new additional space that is dedicated to work only, which can translate into better productivity.

2 COMMENTS

  1. It’s not weird at all – shedworking is very popular in the UK particularly but around the world in general. This is just a recent model. More details at shedworking.co.uk

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