As a remote worker, you probably spend a regular amount of your working week at home. If that is the case, it is not ideal trying to work on a dining table or maybe, a breakfast bar in your kitchen. You will need a fully functioning home office. It’s worth the investment in a proper home office if it’s something you’ll be using regularly; it will help maintain your productivity when working remotely and also help keep a healthy work life balance.
So, first, let’s look at what your home office needs to let you work remotely.
Ensure that your home office is fully connected to the central office and all your systems can work at optimum efficiency. This means you need to make sure your mobile and Wi-Fi signals are at full strength when sat at your desk.
Don’t let the office layout overspill into surrounding areas of your home. After all, it is your home more than it is your office. Other people will likely need to use your home during and outside of your working hours.
It would detract from the homely feeling of the space if your office dominated in terms of floorspace used, noise levels and even visually.
At the same time, it’s advisable to not let your home life overspill into your home office.
If you are a remote worker, you aren’t just “working from home” for the day; the place where you work is your office. It needs to be a dedicated, professional space.
The added benefit of this is that, once your workday finishes, you can leave the office behind just like a regular office worker.
These little touches go a long way to making a more productive and healthier attitude to your work life.
Creating a dedicated workspace
If you don’t regularly have guests who stay over but do have a spare bedroom or reception room, it’s a good idea to use this as your home office location.
In a spare bedroom, using a sofa bed as opposed to a regular bed, helps to define the room clearly a working space – but it can, of course, be converted back to a sleeping space when a guest does arrive.
Opting for raised level storage and sliding drawers on an office desk keeps work documents and resources well organised and tidy whilst still allowing the room to be utilised as a guest room when required.
An smart use of office furniture within the home can allow you to create a working area in a larger room. This is a good option for those who aren’t fortunate enough to have a spare bedroom that they can convert.
Inside a dining room, living room or hallway is a good place install a bureau or stylish office desk and chair.
But, remember, this work station is inside the regular space of the home, so needs to be easily tidied away once work finishes. Good storage is key to this.
New build houses might need a stud wall or downstairs toilet removing, and period properties are likely to have plenty of similarly sized recesses, but installing a home office under the stairs is a great idea.
The area is typically only used for storage or for perhaps a rarely used downstairs toilet. It would be a much more effective use of space to install your home office there instead.
Even if the living room is open plan, the fact that it’s behind you is great for helping to keep you focused and on task.
In older properties, scope out other potential recesses like next to chimney breasts, bay windows or underused built in wardrobes.
If you’re planning on being a remote office worker for the rest of your career, you might as well make a home office to be proud of.
By ensuring plentiful natural light and plant life, combined with a clutter free, tidy space in the room, a home office which promotes productivity can be created
Ideally, any work area should also be closed off and shut down come the end of the working day, left out of sight until you return to work.
Remember, just because your office is inside the home it doesn’t mean you should compromise on design style.
Leicester Office Furnishers Ltd prides itself on offering a wide selection of home office solutions to suit a variety of budgets and room settings. Please feel free to contact us to find out more.
The last thing you want is a chair which looks like it has been wheeled out of a commercial office sitting inside your domestic setting. At the same time, if you’re going to be spending any length of time working in your home office, you don’t want a chair which compromises your health. Choose the right spec chair for your use and location.
At Leicester Office Furnishers we pride ourselves on our knowledge of ergonomic chairs. Our showroom is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday. Please call to book a FREE Ergonomic chair fitting.
‘What does this involve?’ I hear you asking. We can advise you on how to sit at your desk with a better posture, showing you how some chairs will be better than others for your body shape. Part of the ergonomic chair fitting service is to measure certain area’s of the body, including
We would also ask if there are any health conditions relevant that we would need to be aware of. Sitting incorrectly at a computer for long periods of time can take a toll on your body and health. By not sitting with the correct posture, it is easy to end up with the most common workplace injuries such as; back, neck and knee pains. Following some simple steps can maintain good ergonomics and staying comfortable at your desk.
We like to work with the best office furniture manufacturers available, so from office seating manufacturers in Northamptonshire to office furniture manufacturers in Lithuania, we have access to them all. This means we can bring the best in office furniture designs direct to you at fantastic prices.
