According to Eurostat, 8.3 % of all those employed in the EU in 2018 occasionally worked from home – some even more often. It is the self-employed in particular who work from home (an average of 18.5 %). In Finland over 40 % of all self-employed people are working from home.
But do we actually sit properly when we work from home? Some of us might sit at the kitchen table on an uncomfortable chair, or prop ourselves up on the sofa, perching our laptop on our belly, while others sit in bed. Varying our working positions is obviously a good thing to do, but we can, of course, do better than the above examples.
Increase work efficiency with a moving environment
People are made to move. That is why it is completely unnatural for us to spend our entire working day sitting down. Several science studies show, that physical activity has a significant positive influence on our mental processing and working performance. So adding a bit of movement to the working environment can, in fact, be very effective.
Equipping your employees’ home office with a sit-stand desk can be one part of the solution. At least it gives them the option to stand while working from home. In reality, the same tips we have for creating good work-life-balance at the office, applies at home too. Below we have collected a few other best-practice tips for making an engaging home office set-up.
6 tips: How to set up a great home-office space
1. Create calm surroundings
Make sure you are slightly separated from the rest of the house, so you will not be tempted to do domestic chores. If you currently have a spare room that you mostly use for storage, clean it up, air it and turn it into a room you would like to spend time in.
2. Declutter
Find some good storage solutions. Use wardrobes and chests of drawers to tidy things away and avoid piles of paperwork forming on your desk. A clear desk means a clear mind, and once the working day is over, you can pack your work away.
3. Have a good work posture
Choose a desk with plenty of table space. Position your laptop at a suitable height, so that you are not looking down at it. Alternatively, get a screen and a docking station. A separate keyboard and mouse can also give you a better work posture.
4. Sit properly
Pick a good chair, so that you sit comfortably. There are many good office chairs on the market, but pick one that supports you and which you can sit on comfortably all day. Just remember to stand up every once in a while to keep yourself moving.
5. Be close to daylight
Place your desk close to a window, so that you can enjoy the daylight all day long. This also gives you something to look at, when you need to rest your eyes from the screen. Remember to get several lamps, so that the room is well lit when it gets dark outside.
6. Make it cosy
Add accessories and plants, and hang some pictures on the walls – things that make you happy and inspire you. Hang a poster with stretch exercises on the wall, to remind you to stretch once in a while.
Read our short guide on how to establish an ideal sit-stand balance for inspiration. Furthermore, using office desks with LINAK® systems gives you option of adding intuitive reminder tools. For example via the Desk Panel DPG1C or the free Desk Control App. Both designed to motivate and remind you to stand up during the day.
