Suburban Revolutionaries

The NINE principles of the Home-Office Paradigm

In this 5 part article we explore the key distinctions of the paradigm of the 'Home-Office'.

1 From ‘Industrial’ to ‘Information’
2 From ‘Physical’ to ‘Mental Work’
3 From ‘Specialist’ to ‘Generalist’
4 From ‘Doing time’ to ‘Completing Projects’
5 From ‘Location’ to ‘Expertise’
6 From ‘Work and Play’ to ‘Play and Live’
7 From ‘Employee’ to ‘Partner’
8 From ‘Commuting’ to ‘Community
9 From ‘Passive Attendance’ to ‘Active Ownership’
Conclusion: The Home-Office Advantage
Definitions

Introduction

Liberty, Equality and Fraternity!

The French Revolution… what comes to mind for you when I mention that?

Is it… guillotines and Marie Antoinette; the Three Musketeers and the Scarlet Pimpernel; the storming of the Bastille; undercover activities in the streets of Paris; the eventual overthrow of King Louis’ monarchy or the formation of the new French Republic?

Likewise if I mentioned the Industrial Revolution, what comes to mind for you?

Is it… Steam engines and new machines; factories and industries; 18th century Britain; the creation of jobs or the rise of the Luddites?

So what does this have to do with your Home-Office? Like the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution the development of the Home-Office is a social revolution. The shift to ‘home-based business’ or the ‘home-office’ is not simply a passing fad that is here today and gone tomorrow. It is part of the Information Revolution. Like the French and the Industrial Revolutions it will change the way people live. There may not be the violent physical clashes of revolutions of old and don’t let that fool into thinking the Home-Office revolution is not sweeping our streets.

From ‘Home & Work’ to ‘Home-Work’

So what is this revolution?

For the past two centuries, the majority of workers have left their home residence and travelled to a workplace. The ‘home-work’ revolution is simply that - people are staying at home to do their work. This includes people that are running their businesses, or working for the employer they used to commute daily to be with, in their home or regular place of residence.

Ten years ago, if I had said I was working from home it would have been seen as unusual. Today it is more common and more accepted as an effective business strategy. This revolution may be labelled in a number of different ways. Such as: home-based business, telecommuting, home-office or SOHO.

The framework of what we’re talking about is people working from home.

In this discussion we explore the 9 key distinctions of this paradigm.

Post Script

In terms of our model 'The Levels of Creation' (ie. Creation, Technology, Design and Use), these ideas provide a framework from which to design from. Each level of the model has a set of rules in which to work.

In terms of designing a Home-Office we are not simply talking about the design of the physical space, we are talking about the sociall context in which the design needs to fit. In doing this we are acknowledging that the requirements for a design of a home-office are different from that of a house without an office.

Next (Part 2)