This survey is for women in Wolverhampton who work at/from home or would like to do so - whether they be self-employed, an employee or running their own company.
We have been commissioned by The Haven Wolverhampton, a charity established in 1972 to support women and their children, to research potential demand for four 'live/work' spaces to be provided in a new building hosting a women’s enterprise workhub in the city centre. The workhub will aim to make work and business start-ups easier for women in the city, especially those who want to run their own operation from home.
As part of this scheme, the plan is to include four purpose-built live/work units for women to live and work on site. Live/work units are properties which allow their owners to combine the costs of workspace and home all in one property.
The scheme being proposed represents an excellent opportunity for women to not only work this way in a central location. It also enable them to do so with immediate access to excellent facilities such as business support, meeting rooms, hi-tech learning suites, business networking opportunities and commercial incubator units.
Many people now understand the advantages of working from home, especially the cost savings and the additional ability to improve work-life balance (for example to work around school hours at times of your choice). But there are downsides, mainly the potential to feel isolated (working without other people) and the way homes are designed. Many homeworkers would rather have a larger self-contained workspace that makes their work feel more professional than using say a bedroom or the kitchen table. This is where live/work units can help.
To have a look at how live/workers use their space in other parts of the UK (and the USA) we have put up a short presentation of images you may wish to look at. Download this at...
www.liveworknet.com/uploads/liveworkdesign.pdf
You may also find it helpful to read about the advantages of live/work on our website www.liveworkhomes.co.uk
Many thanks for taking part in this survey. Your input will be of great value in helping us to advise on how live/work properties might be made available to women in Wolverhampton. The survey should only take around 5-10 minutes, with most questions requiring just a simple checking of a box. However we do value the comments you make - so please do tell us anything you'd like us to know in the comment boxes.
Important: for data protection we will not pass your details on to any third party. We promise there is no risk of spam or direct mail resulting from your participation!
