Nobody could have imagined in their wildest dreams that they'll be working from home without any problems. There was a time when asking your boss for some relaxation at work so you could attend to important family commitments was a task. Fast-forward to 2022, you can attend to your responsibilities towards your family and not compromise on work, thanks to the widespread acceptance and normalization of work from home model.
Since the remote working model wasn't too common before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, not many people have got the arrangements at home that can help them undertake their office tasks comfortably and efficiently. If you ask around, you'll know that plenty of individuals are using their kitchen counters or dining table as makeshift workstations or working from their couch. As much as it sounds relaxing, not having a proper office space at home makes working from home challenging, especially for those with children at home. Not only that, not having a dedicated home office isn't the best for your health and well-being.
If you're looking for ways to make your home office safe, healthy, and, most importantly, comfortable, you've come to the right place. This blog post will help you design an office space at home that ensures your safety, health, and comfort.
The Need for a Comfortable Dedicated Office Space at Home
If you're currently working from your couch or bed or you've transformed your dining table into a temporary workstation, you might think you can continue doing that in the future too. But, if you ask us, we would strongly advice you against it. You need a dedicated home office space that's comfortable even if you think you don't.
Below are some reasons why you must design a dedicated home office.
Interruptions
One of the biggest and most obvious reasons why you need a dedicated home office is the fact that there are innumerable interruptions when you're working from home that can affect your productivity and efficiency. You'll have your kids and other family members roaming around the house. You can't expect your family members to maintain silence while you're working. There will be noise from the TV and from the kitchen. When you're working from your living or dining room, there's no sense of privacy because the family assumes that since you're sitting with them, you don't have any time away from them!
Discomfort
Having to sit on a dining chair or kitchen counter is highly uncomfortable. These chairs aren't made to have people sitting on them for several hours at a stretch. When you're sitting on such a chair or stool, you are uncomfortable throughout. You'll fail to focus on your work and will be constantly distracted and uneasy.
Poor Productivity
You'll be distracted if you aren't comfortable (which is highly likely without a dedicated home office). When you aren't able to focus on your work, you're more likely to miss out on important details and make errors. Not having a comfortable home office will cost you your productivity and efficiency, and if you don't take it seriously, it may even cost you your job!
Bad Rapport
Imagine being on a very important official call with your bosses, and suddenly your child starts screaming because their sibling won't give them the TV remote or your wife starts the grinder. What image would that pass on to your bosses? It'll show how unprofessional you are and how non-serious you're taking your job. A bad rapport with the seniors is the last thing you want!
Setting Up a Safe, Healthy, and Comfortable Home Office
Although setting up a separate home office is a lot of work and money, it's worthwhile. You certainly wouldn't want to risk your job to save some money, would you?
When setting up a home office, you may not know where to start and what to equip your office with that would ensure it's a safe, healthy, and comfortable place to be.
Well, fret not. We've put together the ultimate guide to help you set up a home office that'll ensure you aren't just comfortable but healthy and happy too!
Invest in the Right Furniture
The right furniture is key to a safe, healthy, and comfortable home office. Every office needs a work desk and chair, which you should start with too.
The first thing that you need is an ergonomic work desk. Now, you may question why can't regular work desk do. The answer is simple; a regular work desk is just a desk that just offers a space for you to keep your office essentials and work, but an ergonomic desk is so much more. Apart from being everything a regular desk is, it's also the ultimate solution to your office's comfort needs. Can you change the height of a regular desk if it feels too high or too low for you? Nope. But an ergonomic work desk allows you to lower or raise the desk top so that the height of the desk is just what you need to work in a neutral posture.
The next piece of furniture that you need in your home office to work comfortably is an ergonomic office chair like the Standard Office Chair C5. It's your chair that you'll be seated on for several hours, and you simply can't focus if your chair isn't comfortable. An ergonomic chair is a blessing. You can't change the nature of your job that requires you to sit in front of your computer for several hours at a stretch, but you can make the time you spend working comfortably. An ergonomic chair allows you to adjust the height, seat depth, and incline of the backrest to ensure that your body is fully supported and you don't have to sit in awkward postures. You won't experience back, shoulder, and neck pains which is often the case with regular home chairs.
Footrest
Another piece of equipment that appears to be insignificant but is actually extremely important is a footrest. Working while sitting all day can lead to blood pooling in the legs, which causes discomfort and swelling. You'll also feel a heaviness in the feet, which can sometimes be painful. Your feet should ideally be placed flat on the floor when seated, but even that can cause blood to pool in the lower extremities. You can prevent that from happening by placing your feet slightly elevated, which a footrest does.
Keeping your feet on the footrest ensures smooth blood circulation to and fro the legs so that the blood doesn't pool in the legs and you don't feel any discomfort or pain because of it.
Heater and Dehumidifier
Many people utilize their basements to set up their home offices. Setting up a home office in the basement is a very wise thing to do since it ensures there are no interruptions and you've got plenty of space all to yourself. However, one thing that can make the basement unsuitable for a home office is the air conditions. Basements are usually cold and humid. They may be too cold for you to work in the winters, and if you're constantly cold and find it hard to breathe due to high humidity, you simply can't focus on your work. The air conditions need to be just right for you to work comfortably in the home office that you've set up in the basement.
If you're planning to utilize your basement for your home office, ensure you have a heater and dehumidifier installed. Without these two installations, your basement won't be the most comfortable place to work.
Ergonomic Keyboard and Mouse
Another source of discomfort during work is wrist pain. If your job involves a lot of typing, your wrists and fingers might hurt too much, making it hard for you to continue. This can slow you down and lead to delays in deliveries. One way to address this challenge is by replacing your keyboard and mouse with ergonomic varieties.
An ergonomic keyboard has softer keys, and a padded wrists support to keep your wrists and fingers from getting fatigued. An ergonomic mouse has super-sensitive buttons to ensure you don't have to press the buttons too hard. All of this keeps fatigue and discomfort at bay and helps you work in absolute comfort.
Closing Word
As much as working from home is a blessing, it can also be quite uncomfortable if you don't have the right equipment. Not having a properly equipped home office affects your productivity and efficiency and puts your health and safety at risk by putting excessive strain on your body and increasing the risk of work-related injuries.
Investing your time, effort, and money to set up a comfortable home office will benefit you immensely in the long run. From ensuring maximum productivity and efficiency to providing you safe and healthy work environment, a dedicated, comfortable home office is all you need to be able to make your work from opportunity count!
