According to the United States Census Bureau, between 2019 and 2021, the number of Americans who primarily work from home tripled, reaching a whopping 27.6 million people. This shift was mainly sparked by the pandemic, of course, but since then, more and more workers have realized that nothing beats staying in the comfort of their own homes, avoiding those painful rush hour commutes and being able to sleep in an extra hour each morning.
But there are pros to going to the office as well, like keeping your home life separate from your work life and being able to socialize with colleagues. So what if you could have the best of both worlds? Well, one creative boss in Missouri recently decided to see if he could provide his employees with the perfect balance. TikToker ItsKylie94 recently shared a few videos of the “tiny home offices” that her boss built for their team, and the internet can’t get enough of them.
Below, you’ll find some of the videos Kylie posted, as well as some of the comments amused viewers left and an interview with Dan from Tiny Home Builders. Then, after you’re finished reading this story, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article discussing tiny homes, look no further than right here!
One creative boss decided to build "tiny home" offices for his employees, and the internet can't get enough of them
Image credits: itskylie94
The extravagant offices went viral after one enthusiastic employee, Kylie, started sharing videos of them on TikTok
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
She gave a tour of the "neighborhood" and answered some of the viewers' most burning questions
Image credits: itskylie94
Kylie explained that she works for a property management company in Missouri that she loves, praising her employers for being extremely generous
Image credits: itskylie94
She also noted that the houses were built with each employee's personality in mind, with the extravagant pink castle going to the owner's wife
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
Viewers wondered if the offices were built on a movie set or housed in a huge warehouse, but Kylie explained that they simply work in an office building with a big, open floor plan
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94itskylie94
She also showed the back of the offices, which houses a "barn" and the employees' kitchen and restrooms
Image credits: itskylie94
You can see Kylie's initial video showing the offices here
She later shared this full tour of the space
And per the viewers' request, she posted a video of her personal house as well, which has yet to be decorated
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
Image credits: itskylie94
While work from home has been on the rise in recent years, with 58% of workers in the US now reporting that they’re able to work from home at least part of the time, not every company allows their employees to work remotely 100% of the time. So if you’re required to go into the office a few days out of the week, wouldn’t you like to feel comfortable in that space? Personally, I would much rather have a tiny home than a cubicle! And this creative solution to giving each employee their own space solves some of the issues workers have with being required to commute to an office.
According to one survey, 72% of employees value being able to work from home to have the freedom to nap or exercise during the day. 73% of workers also want to be able to entertain themselves while they work, with television shows, podcasts, YouTube, and more. “My favorite thing about working from home is that I can listen to my favorite music at a high volume without any headphones and stay in the zone,” says Kfir Cohen, manager of global operations at SDC International Shipping.
But when you have a private “tiny home” with a door that shuts (and even a TV on the wall, as you can see in one of Kylie’s videos), those issues are no longer a concern. Employees can play their music as loud as they like, and they can use their tiny homes for watching Netflix or getting a quick workout in during their lunch breaks. These tiny homes are a great hybrid for workers who start to feel isolated when spending too much time at home but who still enjoy having some privacy during the day. Plus, not everyone has the luxury of having a real office in their own homes, if they don’t have space or can’t afford the furniture required. So being able to work from a comfortable space outside of their homes, which will allow them to keep their homes as a “safe space” free of the stresses and obligations of working, is a win-win.
To learn more about tiny homes and what must have gone into the building of these offices, we reached out to the experts at Tiny Home Builders in Georgia, and Dan was kind enough to have a conversation with us. First, we wanted to know exactly what a tiny home is and what they’re typically used for. “A tiny house is typically lived in like a normal house, it’s just smaller (and thus cheaper!),” Dan told Bored Panda. “They are mostly built on trailers, since houses this small are generally not permitted in most places. This gives them the added benefit of being mobile.”
We were also curious what the process would have been like to build a bunch of “tiny home” offices like the ones featured in Kylie’s videos. “Building these tiny (house) offices would have been a lot simpler than building a normal tiny house. Since these offices are built inside, they won’t be exposed to the harsh elements (rain, snow, winds, etc.) like a normal home,” Dan explained. “This makes the building process a lot easier since the structures won’t need to be watertight. Also, these offices don’t have or need plumbing, so that takes away some of the challenge as well.”
“To build these, you would need to: plan out your design (how big are the offices, where will they be located, etc.); frame out the walls and roof (this is typically done with 2x4’s); add windows and doors; install the electrical wiring; add insulation (optional if you want some sound barrier between the offices); add decorative interior and exterior siding (think shiplap!); paint!”
“It’s not that complicated, assuming you happen to have a warehouse to build these in,” Dan told Bored Panda. He also shared some of the benefits of having a tiny house. “Tiny houses can give people a lot of freedom because of their mobility and low cost. Even if you aren’t planning to live in one, they can be a great way to expand your house to give you a private office space in your backyard.”
Dan also says that tiny houses are for everyone. “There isn’t a specific ‘type’ of person who is interested in tiny houses. We see people from all walks of life that are interested in living a simpler, more streamlined lifestyle.” If you’d like to learn more about tiny homes or even have one built for yourself, be sure to check out Tiny Home Builders’ website right here!
We would love to hear your thoughts on these tiny home offices down below, pandas. Would you prefer to work in an environment like this, rather than the setup your current office has? Let us know in the comments, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article featuring tiny homes, look no further than right here.
Many viewers commented that they loved the idea, with some sharing their own ideas for how to decorate the space
Others, however, were less than impressed by the tiny houses
Later, Kylie posted another video answering some of the most frequently asked questions about the offices
I have gotten a lot of comments like this: "Where is it?", "Is it in a warehouse?", "Is it a movie set?", "What do you do for work?", "Where are you guys located?", "Are you hiring?" And then a lot of other, more hateful comments like "this is a waste of money", "This is a waste of resources, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."
The company that I work for is probably the most generous company that I've ever worked for in my entire life. I've been there for two years. Come April, it'll be two years. And the people that I work for are just, they're amazing individuals. They're very kind, generous, and they donate to so many good causes. They do more than just give to their employees. And a lot of other people are saying, "Oh, well, there goes your raise, you know, I'd rather have a bonus." People are so greedy. I would rather work for a company that genuinely cares about me than, you know, a company that pays me beaucoups of dollars and expects me to be just another number. You know, no, I love the company I work for, I get paid a decent salary.
Anyways, so no, it is not in a warehouse. It is a giant office building. It was a big open floor plan. And the portion of the video that I showed was just a small section of it. There's an entire back-end side. There's like a barn office. We have a full kitchen, we have men's bathrooms, women's bathrooms. There's so much more to the office than the little tiny clip that I showed you.
No, it's not a movie set, people have asked me that as well. It's a property management company. I work for a property management company in Missouri. And I work in accounting. I do plan on doing a tour if I'm able to. Like I said, I just did a little eight-second clip, or I guess the video was eight seconds, but the pictures were like a couple of seconds each. So it was a very short little thing. I didn't think that it was going to amount to anything. So I was really shocked that it did and I cannot keep up with the comments. So I'm going to go in on Monday and show them and get their approval before I just start posting other people's offices and tours of other people's offices. But I'm sure that it's not gonna be an issue to show the outsides of the offices, but I'm going to make sure that everybody's comfortable with me showing the interior of their offices before I just start posting it on TikTok.
Everybody's office is custom-designed to fit their personality. And the castle.... Everybody loves the castle. Everybody has something to say about the castle. It is his wife's. The owner's wife has the castle.