The effects of COVID-19 pandemic have led many employees to work from home substantially more than in the past or even for the first time. So how do you create an ideal home office that will maximise your productivity and keep you invigorated throughout the day?
Start by considering the furniture, equipment and supplies that will help or prevent you from carrying out your daily tasks in peak comfort. Given the long hours that you spend working each day, comfort is the one entity you cannot afford to compromise on.
For this reason, you need to understand the long-lasting physical effects of utilising inadequate office furniture and recognise the elements that can transform your home office into a more conducive space.
While the essentials you will need for work may vary depending on your field, there are a few office staples that are beneficial for everyone.
A clean and practical desk for your workspace setup
When it comes to a home office desk, you want something modest and functional with enough room to set up your computer and monitor together with all your work materials.
A key consideration for choosing the right desk for your home office is the amount of space that is available. While something too bulky can make a small room appear cramped and therefore uncomfortable, the table still needs to also be spacious enough to accommodate your computer and other files.
A computer table complete with a chest of drawers will allow unnecessary documents to be placed out of sight without taking up additional desk or room space, helping you to better focus on the task at hand.
For many of us, having messy cords and tangled wires from electronic devices dangling all over the table can be extremely overwhelming and greatly hampers our ability to work. Hence, you ideally want a computer table that features strategically placed cable outlets or storage to hide those unsightly wires.
If your desk comes with this feature, position it closer to the wall outlet in order to minimise the length the wires have to travel to connect to the power socket. This will no doubt keep your home office looking more organised.
In terms of angle, ensure your desk is placed at a comfortable height where the screen is at your eye level while sitting up. Failure to do so can cause significant neck pain and have detrimental long-term effects.
That said, even with the desk placed at the right height, sitting down for long hours can be physically draining. To achieve optimal comfort, you may want to try a height-adjustable desk. These desks come with a crank or even a motor that allow you to switch from sitting to standing position at the press of a button.
Changing up your working position every now and then can go a long way in ensuring your wellbeing by alleviating any potential back, leg or foot pain.
An ergonomic chair for optimal working comfort
The comfort of your office chair matters just as much as having a good work desk in your home office. The key components that make for a good chair is an ergonomic design that maximises comfort and looks that suit the space.
The material of the chair matters in ergonomics. This explains why office chairs made of genuine leather often boast a plush comfort that polyester cannot replicate.
Adjustability is another factor that makes an office chair ergonomic. This is because everyone has different preferences for angle and support, hence the chair must be able to adapt to the individual user. At a minimum, an ergonomic chair will allow for a wide range of adjustability such that your average person will have their feet on the floor and their knees at a 90-degree angle. This is medically proven to alleviate stress on your knees, which can minimise the possibility of developing arthritis.
Preferably, you want a chair that can be adjusted using air pressure when you sit on it although a chair with a spinning mechanism will also suffice. Being able to adjust the lumbar support of an office chair is an equally critical consideration as the region is what provides support and stability to the entire upper body, including the head and neck.
A chair lacking lumbar support will only place added pressure on the spine and flatten its concave curve, which reduces the equitable distribution of weight and results in lower back pain. To this end, an ergonomic office chair will provide the necessary backrest to support the natural curve of the spine.
This will promote a dynamic sitting position rather than a static posture and increase blood flow to all parts of your body. It also further removes weight and pressure on the lower back to promote a more equal mass distribution throughout.
Your ideal office chair is essentially one that protects any part of your body from unnecessary pressure in order to prevent devastating long-term ailments. This way, you can continue to work in comfort and remain productive.
Storage solutions for an organised home office
Clutter is never a good look, especially when you are trying to meet deadlines. You want to keep your home office area as neat as possible, with all the important paperwork in place and easily retrievable. To do this, you need to implement an effective storage system for your home office.
You can begin your home office organisation plan by introducing functional yet stylish shelving and smaller home office storage solutions into your workspace. This motivates you to put things away in an orderly fashion.
Having a display bookshelf can be a good addition as it offers flexibility in size depending on how much space you have available. Apart from the obvious placement of books, they can also be used to store your office supplies, documents, mail and just about anything else that you regularly need to reach for.
To avoid a pile of paperwork from building up on your computer table, you also want an accessible way to store and organise important files and documents. A traditional filing cabinet can address this.
However, to ensure you purchase the right file cabinet, you need to determine where it would fit in your home office and how much cabinet space is needed. Ideally, you want something compact that does not obstruct your pathway.
The portable two-drawer suspension file cabinet is extremely mobile and can be shifted when necessary. You can choose to slide it under a computer table or tuck it away in a corner depending on your preferred home office configuration.
If you require more storage space, consider getting a three- or four-drawer cabinet. These are designed to accommodate more items with practical features such as a chest of drawers that will hold massive stacks of paperwork in an organised manner.
A rule of thumb when designing your dream workspace is to measure the desk so you are aware of how much height you have underneath for storage apparatus. Future proofing is always a good idea.
Another option would be to use lateral filing cabinets that flush against the wall. This storage method occupies substantially less ground space, at a cost to wall space. You can also utilise the space above the cupboard for a printer, paper shredder or bulkier machineries in general.
Regardless of whether your home office is limited to a spare corner in the house or in an expansive self-contained study room, by choosing the right office furniture and storage solutions for the space, you effectively create a functional and aesthetic workspace that is free from clutter and enhances productivity. Mega Furniture continues to provide comfortable and functional office furniture solutions. Visit our online catalog to find more!