Familiar spaces
People working from home are re-creating their office
When Danielle McKenrick’s boss told employees to work from home because of the novel coronavirus, no one was sure how long it would last.
The design firm where she works has a flexible remote-work policy, anyway, McKenrick said, and most of her colleagues were used to putting in a day’s work without the comforts of the office. Then one week turned into the rest of the month and video conference meetings became the norm. McKenrick was fielding calls from her bedroom and living room sofa, and reviewing designs from a makeshift standing desk of cardboard boxes on the kitchen counter. After a while, she’d had enough.
She bought a small desk and swivel chair online, and grabbed her external monitor, keyboard and trackpad from her Washington office. And in a snug corner of
her bedroom, she created a space that “feels a little bit normal amid all the chaos.”
Workers nationwide are trying to do the same, snapping up electronics, furniture and lighting to transform their spare rooms and kitchen tables into centers of productivity while they wait for the all-clear message on the coronavirus, the global pandemic that sent most of the country into lockdown in March.
A Best Buy spokesperson said the big box retailer is selling more laptops, monitors and webcams, though declined to provide specific sales data. Like most large chains, its bricks-and-mortar operation is mostly shuttered.
Overstock.com said sales of home office furniture a top category year-round - are up more than 100% since the outbreak, though it declined to provide specific figures.
“We were well-prepared for the rapid change in the
market due to our site infrastructure and agile supply chain, and we were able to easily adapt to shifts in top-selling products, from outdoor and patio furniture one week to office essentials and exercise equipment the next,” said Ron Hilton, Overstock’s chief sourcing and operations officer.
Havenly, an online furniture maker, has seen increased interest in office designs. A spokesperson said office-wear now makes up 26% of its sales, compared with 6% in 2019. Some shoppers are bypassing desks for kitchen or dining room tables; sales of those are up 20%. Lamp purchases are up 16%.
Some employers sent workers home with trunks full of equipment and furniture. Gerry McCarthy, a multimedia producer for the UConn Foundation, was able to retrieve a computer tower, two large monitors, mouse, keyboard, photo scanner and electric pencil sharpener. He made off with his office chair, too.