Working from home continues and may well continue for some time yet and for some, it may even become the new normal. It’s time to upgrade your home office from the dining room table and chair, or worst still the kitchen counter and stool, and get yourself a more comfortable seat!
So what can you do to make working from home more comfortable and organised?
The option to leave work behind when you leave the office has been removed so it’s important to make sure work doesn’t infringe on your ability to relax at home. You need to try and avoid having your personal space taken over with piles of paperwork, files, and equipment. Of course, for many of us, having a separate space at home that you can dedicate as a home office is just not possible so being organised is a key factor to preventing work from taking over your home life.
If you have to re-purpose your dining room as an office and it’s possible to make it dual purpose and still function as a dining room out of work hours then you’ll need to get organised. Keep your workspace clean, tidy, and organised with appropriate office storage systems. If your role necessitates physical paperwork and you have room for a filing cabinet there are many shapes and sizes available and many styles that could actually compliment your home decor and style and not look out of place. Of course, going paperless and moving to digital-only would be the ultimate solution for a tidy and uncluttered home office but let’s be realistic, it’s difficult to remove all paperwork. If you don’t have room for a filing cabinet consider using storage solutions such as box files, ring binders, or storage boxes. Use labels to identify and organise your files.
Depending on where your desk is you may be able to install shelves to store your filing. Choose the right storage boxes and keep your workspace neat and tidy so work-related paperwork isn’t on show when you’re trying to relax. There is a wide range of modern storage options and desk essentials available, we like the home office solutions available from Leitz, amongst other suppliers. Choosing the right home office essentials can make a real difference to your desk and transform your home workspace into something that reflects your personality and blends well with your home environment.
Location, Location, Location…
If you have an existing home office you may be looking for an upgrade to your home office furniture. However, many people have never worked from home before and do not have an office or a space they can turn into a dedicated office. The switch to home working happened overnight and people cobbled together a makeshift home office, often with mixed results. Uncomfortable and disorganised workspaces generally mean unproductive home workers who are frustrated and unhappy.
If you don’t have an office at home then deciding on the location of your new home office might not be something that presents you with lots of choices. Ideally, you’ll find somewhere away from distractions, with good natural light and space for storage and the ability to close the office at night. By this, we mean putting things away so your dining room or spare bedroom can be reclaimed once you’ve finished for the day. It may be that you look at storage options in close proximity to your work area if it’s not possible to position them at your desk.
With working from home being more mainstream, many employers have introduced a ‘home office’ policy and under the Health and Safety at Work Act employers have an obligation to ensure staff are working safely even from their homes. Often a home working risk assessment will be carried out and employers can work to mitigate some of the identified risks by providing equipment or furniture to their employees’ homes. Most people unaccustomed to working from home don’t have a suitable chair to work from and they are most likely sitting on a dining chair or a chair that cannot be adjusted and doesn’t have back or neck support. Worst still they could be perched on the edge of an armchair leaning over their laptop situated on a low coffee table in from of them!
NCL has a range of home office products from furniture to storage solutions which are high-quality, from reputable manufacturers, and available at varying budgets. Contact us for help in creating your new or improved home working environment.
