The office or workplace (specifically in, on, under and/or beside an office furniture), is where the ordinary modern person spends his waking hours, in the same manner that kids spend theirs in school.

Work takes up most of our time and efforts.  It is the means that enables us to acquire things and be able to afford comfortable and happy lives.  Normally, the remuneration and rewards we get from work is directly proportional to the amount of time and effort we put into it.  People who work hard are rewarded with higher pay that often comes with job promotion.  However, there are people who work "smart", not hard, but sufficiently rewarded as hard workers are, sometimes even more.

Because of this competitive culture of having to work hard, workplaces to provide its workers comfortable work spaces, office furniture, materials and equipment.  The office furniture is given more emphasis because these are the ones directly used by workers, especially the chair which is where a worker spends most of his time.  This and other pieces of equipment associated with the performance of workers' tasks and responsibilities are ergonomically designed by commercial furniture makers so as to minimise stress to its users.  Ergonomic design in machine and furniture results in faster turn-over and productivity due to the ease-of-use and efficiency rendered unto them.  This way, the worker can stay in the workplace for longer hours without having to be apprehensive of stress-related ailments.

Then why is it, save for very few exceptions such as super yachts and expensive sports or vintage cars, that people build homes and spend more money on them than on any other project?  Perhaps, it is because of the sense of belonging best expressed in the phrase "home, sweet home" that compels people to put so much emphasis on the home.  After all, for the average person, it is the convergence point of loved ones and everything else that matters to him.

Perhaps, it is also for this reason that, despite discouragements by social scientists because of its distractive effect on quality family time, as backed up by studies and statistics, some people convert a portion of their homes into an "office environment".  Office furniture and equipment dominate the space and the "worker" shifts his focus to his job confidently thinking that he is "at home" with and very near his family.  That is how the serious present-day workers behave towards his job.

The work-at-home wage earner is a variant of the "bring-home job" worker and has an almost identical mindset except that the former easily and essentially blends his home and workplace while the latter has to commute between his workplace office and home office, which sometimes adversely affects family life and cause unnecessary stress.