”I want a working home,” declared an emphatic Niharika.
It was early evening in our Kolkata office.
Niharika Kaur came in to inquire about a few properties she is interested in.
The sales executive, Rajiv, sitting across the table, fairly understood what she wanted but asked a few more questions. As is the culture in NK Realtors, we ask a lot of questions so that we can understand the customer inside out, and we can suggest the most suitable property to the customer.
”I perfectly understand. The demand for working homes is increasing day by day,” said Rajiv.
The Epitome of a New-Age Worker
Niharika Kaur is a young freelance graphic designer working with medium size businesses mostly in the US and UK.
She currently lives with her parents and her college-going sister in a 3 BHK apartment in an old building near Tollygunge.
Exactly 2 years after she was fired from her job, she became extremely busy in her freelance career. The best part is that she earns in US Dollars.
She was growing well, and more work was coming her way, but a problem cropped up.
Her 3 BHK apartment does not have a dedicated corner for work.
She needs to join her clients over Zoom calls, and a professional-looking workstation is needed to communicate proper impressions to her clients.
In fact, her father, an advocate by profession, needs to sit in online conferences sometimes, and an undisturbed atmosphere is necessary.
She needs to solve this issue immediately, otherwise, it is difficult to work. The exposed images of her home while on video conference turn out to be embarrassing sometimes.
In any case, she wants to buy an apartment in a gated community near Southern Bypass and a dedicated small area inside the apartment is a basic necessity for her.
How can she solve this issue?
The Emerging Future of Work
The year 2020 started the great reset in work and personal lives throughout the world. A revolution began with new ideas and new thinking on work.
The huge wave of the ‘great resignation’ took the corporate world by surprise. Employees started to value their personal lives more, and flexibility of working hours, rather than fixed office hours, became the norm in many countries.
We have also witnessed an unprecedented attrition rate among the IT companies in India.
There is a growing feeling that the corporate work environment is becoming increasingly toxic, and employees need to compromise their physical and mental health by undergoing rigid pressure to perform. Employees today require flexible working hours and a holistic work-life balance. They also need to cut down time-wasting daily commute to the office, long meetings, and office politics.
This is currently a global phenomenon and employees everywhere are ditching the formal work environment and welcoming a more relaxed, informal, and hybrid work culture.
This new way of work needs some adjustments such as a professional workstation at home or nearby.
This is exactly the requirement of Niharika, and Rajiv discussed it further with her and suggested some properties.
Being Close to Office Area is No Longer Essential
In Kolkata, living near office areas has its own disadvantages. For new age hybrid workers, there is a rethink on the quality of life and this includes their choice of locations to buy homes.
It is common knowledge that there are very few gated communities close to the office areas of the city. Mostly, affordable homes are in single buildings because of the paucity of expansive land.
However, hybrid workers who largely work from home prefer gated communities in a greener environment with lifestyle amenities.
Long lonely sedentary hours by such workers increase the need for unwinding, taking a walk, listening to the birds’ songs, taking a swim, and working out in a good gym. Kind of homes a gated community can offer, away from the noisy centre of the city, at an affordable price.
Since going to the office every day is no longer a priority, buying a home to minimize commute time is not that important.
Instead of that, new-age workers’ needs are somewhat different.
Lifestyle Homes with Comfy Workplace
Work is no longer confined to offices, and this is creating a different set of health problems for the workers. Often, work extends beyond ‘office hours’ and long periods of screen viewing, sitting in front of computers, with nobody to talk to except on zoom calls are already difficult to adjust to. These are creating physical difficulties such as low energy, back and neck pain, and weight gain. Doctors are even warning of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes in serious cases.
Apart from physical issues, mental health is also taking a huge toll. Being cooped up in a small workstation all the time, little real-life socializing, and distance from nature are making workers morose and depressed.
The good news is that new-age workers are getting aware of these pitfalls and are willing to overcome these challenges.
There is an increased need for gyms, yoga and meditation decks, swimming pools, jogging tracks, social clubs and gated communities with these amenities are much preferred.
A Compelling Offer Niharika Couldn’t Refuse
Rajiv has one great quality.
He listens to the customers a lot.
He finds out about their difficulties, and how they imagine their ideal homes.
After hearing out Niharika for a painstakingly long time, he made an offer.
An offer Niharika couldn’t refuse, as it ticked all the checkboxes of her wishlist.
Rajiv asked Niharika, ”Have you heard of SOHO?”
”Never been to London,” replied Niharika.
SOHO is not that famous place in London but an acronym for Small Office/Home Office, the new real estate buzzword sweeping the world.
Nowadays, solopreneurs and micro enterprises are preferring small home-based offices to save on investing in elaborate offices.
Rajiv spoke about a few upcoming residential complexes near Southern Bypass. These properties have all the necessary amenities, a gym, swimming pool, jogging track, yoga deck, landscaped greenery, and are flexible enough to accommodate a small workstation suitable for solopreneurs like Niharika. It can be remodeled into a small home office also.
This is exactly what Niharika wanted. She asked Rajiv how she can book a flat.
SOHO is much preferred nowadays in India also and developers are introducing this concept with enthusiasm. There is also considerable interest among homebuyers too.
If you wish to take advantage of such tailor-made advice, please get in touch with us right now.
