WAH - Working At Home

France, 2015

Technical Specifications

Type

tertiary

Location

France

project manager

Partners : Arca Ebenisterie

Team enia : Marc-Antoine Delbauffe

Program

Develop a workstation that a company would provide to its employees working at home while respecting two needs: to benefit from good working conditions, to be stimulated professionally, to respect private life when the work is finished

Status

study

Date

2015

The research proposes folding office furniture suitable for working at home.

Why this research? 
The WAH project ("Work at Home") is part of a reflection on the changes in working methods and conditions. Various parameters such as travel time, their carbon impact or more recently the pandemic, are prompting us to improve our home environment to adapt to telework. The generalisation of telework, at least on a part-time basis, raises the question of the investment of the employee's personal space by the company, and that of the creation of good working conditions in a place which is a priori dedicated to other functions. The target of the project developed is any person working at home significantly, i.e. 2 to 3 days a week, and only attending meetings or training sessions. However, it is essential to take into account the intrusive aspect that telework can cause in the private sphere. 

Methodology and results
The WAH research explores home furnishings that allow people to work in pleasant and stimulating conditions while respecting the privacy of their living environment. The agency therefore imagined a piece of furniture that can be unfolded during the day, containing all the elements necessary for work, and that can be folded up in the evening, when work time is over. The work space retracts.  WAH furniture reconciles private life and work in the same place by offering modular furniture. The agency, with the help of Arca Ebenisterie, produced a prototype of the WAH office. The construction costs were estimated at around 1500 euros.