I have often wondered what I would do about the Office Question if I started a company, since any company I might start is very likely to be distributed due to geography (mine and my network&#x27;s both).  Usually I end up with the idea that everyone would work from &quot;home,&quot; and would be encouraged to use co-working (company-paid) if they wished; and I might maintain a minimal &quot;HQ&quot; assuming it was more than just me at that location; and I&#x27;d build in regular face-to-face team meetings into the business plan, say at least every quarter.<p>The only problem is, I&#x27;m not sure I&#x27;d want to work that way myself if I were an employee.  I think I&#x27;d want an office: preferably one to myself.<p>I currently work from home, and have previously rented office spaces (both shared and not) at my own expense; and at various times I&#x27;ve worked in the HQ, branch offices, and various combinations of all these things, for a few different tech-related companies.<p>I would probably rent another dedicated office right now, but my rental apartment has a guest room so it seems decadent. But I&#x27;m still tempted, and check the listings every couple of weeks.<p>I would say that for me, working in software development and also doing &quot;creative&quot; work, having a separate space easily made up in peace of mind and <i>probably</i> in productivity what it cost in money.  (In a high-rent zone like San Francisco that probably wouldn&#x27;t hold.)  But I found a coworking space too annoying, and probably would not go back to that if I could avoid it.<p>I found the big advantages to a rented space were, in order:<p>1. Freedom from distractions (usually; neighbors make noise too).
2. Work-only nature of the space, i.e. you go there <i>only</i> to work.
3. Ability to set it up as I like (decoration, layout, etc.).
4. Got my butt out of the house and out amongst the humans more often.
5. Your feelings about Home don&#x27;t get so mixed up with your feelings about Work.
6. You can still opt to work from home when you really feel like it.<p>Disadvantages vs home office:<p>1. &quot;Shared resources&quot; (kitchen, bathroom, etc.) might not live up to your normal standards of utility or hygiene.
2. Neighbors pay rent too, and are thus unlikely to change their habits at your request.
3. Expense (though this is very location-dependent).
4. Commute, while probably a good thing overall, eats time.
5. Your landlord, like most landlords, may suck.<p>None of this in any way contradicts the idea of going all-in on remote teams, but it does raise a question: if you&#x27;re doing it for the competitive advantage of high productivity, might it be better to spend <i>more</i> on offices that are <i>themselves</i> distributed?<p>(FWIW: Married, no kids, and neither one of us works a 9-5 schedule.)