Photos by George Hunter

In mid-March 2020, millions of workers were driven out of the office with no definite return date when the COVID-19 pandemic completely disrupted everyone in the United States’ livelihoods, plans and vocations. Peachtree Corners was no exception, and thousands of residents were forced to improvise creating a work-friendly space inside of their homes.

After over a year of commute-free and remote jobs, the pandemic has completely deconstructed how humans relate and view their space — showing that careers are more transient than we ever thought. Even though nearly 47% of the U.S. population is vaccinated and life is slowly coming back to a sort of normal, home office spaces may be here to stay.

A head start

Jason Reese, an IT Systems Architect for NVIDIA, a multinational technology company, had a head start on remote working in 2016.

“After over 10 years where I did a lengthy daily commute driving to midtown Atlanta, in 2014 I got the opportunity to work for a company on the West Coast and split my time working between there and home in Atlanta,” Reese said. “Even then, most of the meetings I was in were video calls with teams dispersed across different states and countries. In 2016, it worked out to where I went full-time remote and only needing to travel one week a month to be ‘in office’.”

Reese’s home office space evolved from just a laptop on his kitchen table, to a makeshift desk in the living room, (“that was a real eye-sore whenever we had company,” Reese joked) to, finally, converting his bonus room into the ideal working space. Opting for an electric standing desk, over the usual large office desk, allowed Reese to alternate sitting and standing throughout the workday.

“I put a privacy divider up behind my workspace, primarily for video calls,” Reese said, “so co-workers don’t see anything but my professional space.” The privacy dividers also keep the rest of the bonus room off the call which includes “a TV room with surround sound and synced hued lighting and a home gym.”

Space to concentrate

Cliff Bramble, a self-employed restaurant and real estate investor also found himself having to convert to working remotely March of 2020. Amid the pandemic, Bramble started a full-time restaurant consulting company called Hungry Hospitality.

“I have a consulting company that works with start-up businesses and restaurants in helping them in any business aspect on the business side,” Bramble said of his company. The company has also published books on the subject and will be launching a new product in August.

Like Reese, Bramble’s new workspace is in his basement, but it is minimal to say the least: only sixty square feet with no windows. But this isn’t at all bad — Bramble wrote two books in that tiny office.

“Being in a small space along with no windows has allowed me to focus on getting more done. It allows me to write my book in a non-disturbing space,” Bramble says of his workspace.

Reese has found a similar sense of productivity and peace in his home office workspace rather than the typical 9 to 5 office.

“In an office, especially the ever-present ‘open office layouts’, there were constant distractions. I’d try to work on something needing focus and get interrupted by chit-chat or conversations two feet away.

That’s not counting needing to find conference rooms, [getting] to them, often in different floors or buildings, just to have a meeting.”

Less commute, more productivity

Reese believes that while undoubtedly there is value in meeting and interacting with someone in person, “the minutes and hours gained by removing long commutes have added more productive time.

Most of the work I am doing is behind a computer screen. If I can block distractions, I can focus on work for a few hours and complete more in less time it would take in an office.” Though remote working or learning may not be the best fit for everyone, it has given Reese more balance in his life.

“Before I worked from home, I’d spend one to two hours, [each way] commuting. I’d stay at an office until 6 or 7 trying to avoid even more traffic, then get home and be too tired or stressed to do anything besides eating and sleep,” he said. “Weekends were spent running errands with maybe a dinner out thrown in.”

This way of life pre-pandemic was monotonous and prevented many from seeing their families and being able to do anything outside of the necessities. One of the very few benefits of the pandemic was that it gave us time to spend doing things we never would have done because of our busy schedules.

This allowed Reese to go get lunch out with his wife occasionally, and during his West Coast worker’s lunch breaks, allowed him the chance to walk his dog in the neighborhood or run errands — do things for himself.

Bramble agreed with Reese, drive-free work environments are a plus. Working at home has also allowed Bramble to be within arm’s reach of his children, “I have never had that luxury in my prior businesses.”

Home office challenges

Suffice to say, remote working does not come without its challenges. “The biggest challenge when I started working from home was worrying that I wasn’t doing enough,” Reese said. “Your first impulse is since your boss or coworkers can’t see all the work you’re doing, [so] you should just do more. Be available all the time. Show that you’re up and online at 7 a.m. sharp. Skip stepping away from your desk or computer to take breaks or even eat meals.”

Reese quickly realized that this work ethic based on fear of his coworkers, his boss wasn’t sustainable. You can burn out quickly trying to be available for ‘every meeting,’ ‘lead every project,’ just to show how hardworking you are while working at home. Instead, Reese suggests that you set boundaries to prevent burnout and cultivate maximum productivity.

“For me, setting up a dedicated desk and the work area was crucial. Each morning, the routine is to take out and feed the dog, make coffee, go upstairs to get ready and all work is done in the home office. When I’m not in that space, I’m spending time with my wife or trying to fit in a quick workout,” Reese said.

“Even though the room may be used for other things, it is set up with clear separation. The workspace and home office are defined, so all meetings and all focused work are done every day. That’s helped the most with my routine.”

Another unexpected challenge for Bramble was the lack of community and meeting people in his business. “I have always been around hundreds of people and talking to them and getting to know them in restaurants. Fortunately, I have a lot of friends around [Peachtree Corners] and we still get together and share good laughs,” Bramble said.

Better balance

According to Bramble and Reese, with remote working, balancing family life with professional life is easier than it’s ever been. “Working at home saves you time and allows you to get a lot of work done. Plus being self-motivated helps, too,” Bramble explained.

Humans cannot take all the credit though; Reese said his workspace would not be complete without his dog, Sasha. “She holds it all together each day as de-stressor and overall chief happiness officer at home.”

“It’s hard to have a bad day with a dog who likes to lay next to your desk while you work,” Reese continued, “and is equally adept at pawing at you to take a break, go for a walk or just go out for a bit to step away and enjoy a moment sitting in the sun between all those pesky meetings.”

As of 2021, society is still learning that we do not have to “go into the office” to be successful. For Bramble, his small 60-square-foot basement office was ideal enough for him to write two books, record podcasts and audio business classes, as well as launch his $12 million company.

“It is not the size of the office but the amount of creativity and work that gets done in the office,” Bramble explained. “With the connection to the internet, I can launch an entire media company in my office.”