Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Working from Home: A Guide to Creating a Healthy and Productive Workspace

Following the recent pandemic, the popularity of remote work has increased dramatically.

In a recent survey, an incredible 92% of workers said they want to work at least partially from home. Although remote work brings with it many benefits, it can also be a challenge for mental health, physical health, and productivity – particularly for those who live alone.

In this article, we take a look at how establishing a healthy and productive workspace can help those working from home.

Productivity

Although many home workers feel they are actually more productive at home, away from all the distractions that an office environment can bring, working from home can still bring its own unique productivity challenges.

While workers will have a dedicated workspace in the office, it can be hard to carve out an equally effective space at home. With this in mind, it’s important for workers to be informed on the ideal ergonomics for a workspace. Something as simple as replacing a chair can have a dramatic effect on productivity, as a well-designed chair can reduce aches and pains caused by improper posture.

Reducing distractions

The ideal home workspace should be free from distractions. This is easier said than done for some people, including those with kids or pets that may occasionally need their attention, but there are steps you can take to limit disruptions. For example, setting up your workspace in the furthest possible room from any distractions can help to limit any background noise that could draw your focus.

Our phones are also known to be a common distraction, with many struggling to resist the temptation to check notifications or scroll through social media. To help combat this, try using do not disturb mode during working hours. This mode only allows certain contacts to get through to you, ensuring that you’re only picking up your phone if absolutely necessary.

Maintaining a work-life balance

Perhaps surprisingly, it’s common for employees to feel like remote work has had a negative impact on their work-life balance. This shows that although working from home has many theoretical benefits for work-life balance, it can be a more complicated picture in practice. Reduced commutes and flexible hours may free up more time at home, but it can be very easy for work-life to bleed into and consume home life.

It’s important to implement boundaries at home. Whether that’s working scheduled hours or planning out regular breaks, protecting your mental well-being is crucial. Research shows that 73% of workers put in more effort when working at home, and 39% work additional hours. These kinds of hours can take a serious toll on workers’ mental and physical health and are not recommended. It’s important to recognise if someone is overworked, as while there’s a clear demarcation between home and work life for those who work in an office, it can be hard to draw the line ourselves at home.

How a healthy home workspace can help

To help minimise the chances of overworking during the day, it’s important to establish a healthy and productive home workspace. This enables workers to be more focused throughout working hours, limiting distractions and getting through more work in a shorter amount of time, which in turn reduces the temptation to work additional hours. For those that may have been putting off upgrading their workspace, now is the time to start looking at your options. It can truly make a significant difference in the long term.

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