{"id":477626,"date":"2025-10-06T07:22:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T07:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/477626\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T07:22:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T07:22:19","slug":"want-a-raise-try-swapping-your-home-office-for-the-garage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/477626\/","title":{"rendered":"Want a raise? Try swapping your home office for the garage"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the weekly Work Life newsletter. If you are interested in more careers-related content, sign up<\/a> to receive it in your inbox.<\/p>\n

When the pandemic first sent millions of workers home, kitchens and living rooms turned into makeshift offices overnight. Now, several years later, a different space is emerging as a favourite: the garage.<\/p>\n

A new survey<\/a> of 1,000 U.S. remote and hybrid workers by Alan\u2019s Factory Outlet shows just how widespread the trend has become. According to the data, 43 per cent of workers have done so from their garage, and 59 per cent say they are more productive there than anywhere else in their homes. The company has an incentive to see results like this as it sells garages and carports but nonetheless the reasons and benefits are interesting to examine. <\/p>\n

Why the garage works<\/b><\/p>\n

For many, the garage offers what other rooms can\u2019t \u2013 separation. Sixty-five per cent of workers cited physical distance from household life as the top reason for moving into the garage. Other top reasons were privacy, lack of space elsewhere and even the novelty of the setup. <\/p>\n

But, the benefits aren\u2019t just about comfort, and this is where it gets even more interesting. <\/p>\n

Seventy-seven per cent of respondents said their garage office gave them the mental separation they needed between home and work. And, in some cases, the productivity boost translated directly into career gains. Nearly one in four workers (23 per cent) said working from their garage earned them more recognition at work, the same share said it led to a raise and 17 per cent credited it with helping secure a promotion.<\/p>\n

Who knew the fastest route to a promotion might be through the garage door instead of the corner office?<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/b><\/p>\n

What started as a quick fix is quickly turning into a desirable home feature for workers, with 51 per cent saying they\u2019d pay extra for a home with a pre-designed garage office. <\/p>\n

For those who are making the upgrades themselves, they\u2019re focused on features such as sufficient heating and cooling, adding natural light or windows and even crafting better backgrounds for their Zoom calls. <\/p>\n

The workplace perk wish list is evolving too. Sixty per cent of remote and hybrid workers say they\u2019d like their employer to provide a monthly \u201cgarage office stipend,\u201d with $250 cited as a fair amount.<\/p>\n

The garage isn\u2019t just for cars and storage anymore, it\u2019s becoming a go-to office for remote and hybrid workers \u2013 and with a few upgrades, it\u2019s turning into one of the most useful rooms in the house. <\/p>\n

Fast factFalling short<\/b><\/p>\n

71 per cent<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how many hiring managers say they are concerned about meeting salary expectations in 2026, according to the 2026 Canada Salary Guide from recruiting firm Robert Half.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Career guidanceOffer revoked<\/p>\n

One worker accepted a job offer, quit their previous job and received a company laptop for their new gig. Then, one week before they were supposed to start, their new employer informed them that circumstances had changed and they would not be hiring them. They are wondering what their options are. <\/p>\n

While there are nuances based on where people live in the country, experts say that if the offer was unconditional \u2013 as in, not subject to background checks, corporate approval, etc. \u2013 and did not give the employer the right to cancel before the start date, they likely breached the employment contract and the worker may be entitled to damages. To secure employment as fast as possible, they advise continuing to job search and reaching out to their previous employer to see if the old position is still available. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

QuotedGhost growth<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll give you something to make you feel content and to stick around, but they won\u2019t actually give you the title to represent the work that you\u2019re doing, or the pay to represent the additional work that you\u2019re taking on, or even the career progression you\u2019re looking for,\u201d says career expert Jasmine Escalera.<\/p>\n

This article looks at \u2018ghost growth\u2019, a trend where workers experience surface-level career growth that doesn\u2019t translate to meaningful changes in pay or title. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

On our radarAI infrastructure<\/p>\n

Telus, in partnership with Nvidia, has launched Canada\u2019s first sovereign AI factory in Rimouski, Que, designed to build and operate large language models while keeping data within the country. The facility aims to support sensitive sectors such as healthcare, finance and government where domestic AI infrastructure is crucial. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is the weekly Work Life newsletter. If you are interested in more careers-related content, sign up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3092],"tags":[51,3857,88939,88940,88936,88935,68486,88941,897,45863,24789,88938,16,15,43978,88937],"class_list":{"0":"post-477626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-career-advice","10":"tag-career-leadership","11":"tag-careers-globe-and-mail","12":"tag-careers-newsletter","13":"tag-careersnewsletter","14":"tag-future-of-work","15":"tag-globe-and-mail-newsletter","16":"tag-jobs","17":"tag-newsletter","18":"tag-noastack","19":"tag-thought-leadership","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-workplace-culture","23":"tag-your-life-at-work"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115326022045623688","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}