Sometimes there’s that little voice at the back of your head that tells you that you really shouldn’t. Sometimes that’s the voice of your parents and quite often that voice is right.
We found a rustic but big and cheap studio that we moved into in October last year. Over the summer we worked remotely, which I wrote about here, after having had an office at the first WeWork here in London. We needed a break from commuting and during the summer months it didn’t make much sense for us to have office cost when we’d be away for a large part of the time.
We met up once a week and it worked great, but the more my role became sales, the harder it was to work from cafes. We’d always intended to find some desks pace for autumn and were debating hot desking, but with the busy Christmas period we needed our big screens. There’s no denying that we’re more productive with our big screens and hot desking meant no wall space, something I’m a big fan of for working through things as well as having goals and ideas visible.
So, when we found our studio we were quick to sign up. It can comfortably fit 8 desks and costs under £900 per month including everything. A fraction of what you pay for a dedicated office space, let alone dedicated desks or hot desking. It’s charismatic and would look lovely with a bit of paint. It was supposed to be our home.
Then we moved in and found out that there is asbestos in the building. Not only that, it’s in areas very close to us and that we use daily. In fact we have to use them daily as it’s in the restrooms and where we do our washing up. The building manager told us it’s under control, but other tenants say otherwise.
A few years ago as I was browsing and lusting after summer houses in Österlen, I found a lovely looking house that needed doing up (I love a project me). My mum pointed out that it had asbestos in it and would be very costly and not something you want to get involved in from a health point of view. It was never on the cards to buy anyway, but everyday as I walk into the areas at work where it says “Danger – asbestos” I think about what my mum would say and I know my dad would echo the same. It’d be a loud “You can’t work there. Move out.”
And they are right. When it comes to your health there is no risk worth taking, no matter how good a deal it is in other aspect. I would never have signed the lease, had I known there was asbestos in the building and that’s a good indicator of what we must do out. Move out. Just as my parents would say, and no doubt will tell me after having read this / I tell them.
Image via Flickr user daryl_mitchell
