Send emails, chat with workers…do yoga? Revolutionary ‘office’ planned to enliven WFH tedium

Working may never be the same again after the pandemic, but that needn’t be a bad thing - say the team behind a first-of-its-kind ‘ fun office’.

Work + Play is set to open inside 111 Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, with the aim of creating a balance to ensure, as Jack Nicholson might attest, nobody becomes a dull boy or girl. 

The service will allow subscribers to work alongside fellow company-starved employees on a traditional desk, or at café style seating and privacy booths. 

Members can take advantage of studio ‘play spaces’, which can be customised to host a range of events and classes from exercise training and Pilates to speed networking and life drawing.

There is, importantly, a top of the range coffee machine and in the play space there is even the scope to do yoga classes with puppies. 

Behind the project are friends: management consultant, Freddie Scobey and entrepreneur, Tobias Batkin - who both spotted a potential in the market during lockdown.

Freddie is hoping this can be the first of many Work + Play venues.

“Work + Play is the first coworking concept geared towards the ‘work from home’ crowd, that focuses equally on work and play,” he said. 

“At its core, it’s about refusing to return to the unnatural work habits of the past. 

“Our first location in Finsbury Park offers a unique take on coworking and has been meticulously designed by award-winning architects to be a combination of work and home comfort. 

“The space aims to support people in achieving balance by incorporating wellbeing and fun into their workdays.”

Work + Play is on the ground floor of a residential block.

Interior design consultancy Office Principles has now completed the CAT B design and fit out. 

Rory Smyth, managing director of Office Principles’ London-based team, said: “Work + Play is a brand-new concept for collaborators, freelancers and people working from home, who miss the interaction of an office. 

“It’s an ideal space for those who want to get out, get active and get social, with opportunities to find physical and mental wellbeing.” 

For more information, visit: www.work-play.co.uk/