Home office on a budget
With increasing local COVID-19 lockdowns, remote and hybrid working is here to stay. So weāve put together this guide to help people create a home office that maximizes space and money and enhances their employee experience.
Having a designated workspace is all-important now so many of us are working from home. But how do you do it if you donāt have much room ā or money? We asked an interior designer and physiotherapist about their best home office ideas on a budget. If youāre wondering how to set up a home office without an extra room, or make a home office in a small space, read on.
A relaxed remote working policy has been found to do workers and businesses the power of good. A 2017 study from Stanford University showed that employees of Chinese travel giant Ctrip, who chose to work from home, increased their overall productivity by 13%. And, thanks to the freedom and comfort they got from working from their own space, the business benefitted. Happiness among these workers rose so much that employee retention increased by 50% which created savings on recruitment. But there was a catch. To qualify to work from home, workers had to have both ādecent WiFiā and a home office setup, or designated space to work.
Fast-forward three years to a pandemic world ā now the demand that most people work from home is causing concern. Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, who led the 2017 survey, thinks that added distractions of family members and āunsuitableā work spaces will cause a drop in overall productivity.1 But, like waking up early and putting on your āworkā outfit, a designated home office or working space could help combat low productivity, boost concentration and reinstate that all-important work-life balance.
Many of us havenāt got a home office setup at our disposal. Even fewer of us have two separate ready-made spaces if our partners or housemates also need a place to work. But luckily, creating a suitable spot to get stuck into your 9-5 neednāt be difficult ā nor expensive. Interior designer Cathy Flanagan and chartered physiotherapist Colin Nash share their best ideas for a cheap home office setup ā from space, light and color palettes to ergonomics and physical health.
Create a home office space that works for you
Think multifunctional
Not all of us are lucky enough to have an extra room waiting to be transformed into a home office, nor have the time ā or the cash ā for a home makeover. The good news is you can easily and cheaply set up an effective working space in whatever spot youāve got, even in a small space.
According to Cathy Flanagan, founder of London-based design studio Keep Interior Design, existing spaces in the home, can double quite nicely as home offices, whether a rarely-used spare room or a light-filled corner of the dining room. Whatever you do, donāt go for a space thatās too restricted: āIād much rather adapt a larger space to be multifunctional than end up working in a space thatās awkward or compromised, like the space under the stairs,ā says Cathy.
Chartered physiotherapist Colin Nash agrees. āIf possible, choose a space that gives you options for shifting position throughout the day, as itās important for maintaining good postureā he says. āItās equally as important to have space to move away from your workstation from time to time and stretch out.ā
Consider your layout
In the UK, people work, on average, 42 hours a week.2 Thatās more than eight hours a day to feel comfortable, productive and inspired in your home work space. Whether youāve got a room in mind to convert, or are setting up an office space in your sitting room, bedroom or kitchen, how you choose to lay it out really matters according to Cathy. āYouāre going to spend a lot of time in this room, so itās important to think seriously about the best use of space and design,ā she says.
There are simple ways to do this. First, Cathy suggests, get some inspiration: browse Instagram, Pinterest or interiors magazines for ideas on colors, textures, styles and layouts. But donāt misjudge the space you have available: you donāt want to find that the perfect desk youāve spotted online cuts straight across a window frame, or that the bookshelf youāve chosen for your files is too tall for the wall.
Put in partitions
If youāre converting an existing room, such as a living room, to accomodate a home working space, make sure to create partitions using curtains or even plants to divide one space from the other. āItās important to be able to shut your office away at the end of the day, to create separation and allow you to relax,ā Cathy says. And that goes for the spare bedroom too: āYour guests wonāt want to feel like they are staying in an office,ā she adds.
Get the app
If you want to take planning a step further, there are reliable interior design apps you can download to help you virtually plan a space. For straightforward overhead planning, try the aptly-named Floorplanner app. Itās free, simple to use and ideal for laying out 2D room plans plus making sure all your favourite furniture fits. If youāre looking for more comprehensive software that allows you to explore all aspects of your design, opt for SketchUp, favored by the professionals for its 3D modeling, viewing capabilities and ease of use, āas if youāre working with pen and paperā.3
Physical health and wellbeing
The word āergonomicsā usually conjures up images of specially designed chairs, keyboards and other office equipment adapted to make working life easier. But itās more than that. The UKās Health and Safety Executive (HSE) describes it as āthe science concerned with the āfitā between people and their workā ā that is, the job at hand, the personās physical and mental capabilities, and the organization and social environment.4
When it comes to the benefits of ergonomics for health and safety, the HSE says that applying them in the workplace āreduces the potential for accidents, reduces the potential for injury and ill health, and improves performance and productivity.ā So when weāre working remotely we need to shift the ergonomic benefits of the workplace to our home office spaces, without breaking the bank ā or our backsā¦
The problem of aches and pains
Since the COVID-19 lockdown began, thereās been a sharp increase in complaints of musculoskeletal disorders. IES Working from Home Wellbeing Survey findings reveal that more than 58% of respondents suffered from new neck pain, 56% complained of increased shoulder discomfort and 55% reported back pain since remote working became a full-time requirement.
The causes for such irritating aches and pains vary. Fatigue and unsound sleep could be one reason, with 60% of people reporting an inability to get a good nightās sleep. Repressed anxiety around family safety and job security is another. But the main causes are physical: prolonged periods in cramped or twisted postures, lack of movement, awkwardly laid-out work stations and unsuitable or badly adjusted furniture. If youāre suffering, youāll be relieved to hear that you could be back to your pain-free state in no time, with some cheap (or even free), straightforward adjustments.
Workstations: think outside the box
As many as 90% of the UK population uses a computer or laptop for work. But when working from home, not everybody will be using a traditional office desk ā at least not all of the time. So moving from place to place and between different levels for a change of position can be highly beneficial, says Colin, whoās writing from his kitchen where his laptop is propped on a stool, on top of the kitchen table.
āThis serves as a perfect standing desk for my height,ā he explains. āWhen it comes to feeling comfortable working remotely, think outside the box. You donāt need to spend big bucks for a hybrid sit-to-stand desk. Play around with different pieces of furniture you have at home, such as boxes and books, to set up a comfortable standing height.ā
Peak positioning
For perfect posture and peak positioning, Colin warns against emptying your wallet for the most expensive adjustable chair money can buy. āWhen it comes to your working setup there is no perfect posture, so play around with what youāve got,ā he says, suggesting a balance between a standard kitchen or dining chair, a medicine ball and standing upright.
āThe key is to change position every so often. Experiment to see what works for you ā I would suggest changing between different sitting positions or sitting and standing every 30-60 minutes. Though thereās no perfect working posture, I would recommend having your keyboard close to you and, if possible, your screen in front of you at eye level.ā
Mind over matter
Itās not just your physical wellbeing you need to look after when putting in the hours at home. There are also plenty of simple tips for keeping your mind focussed and engaged, and helping you get that balance between peaceful and productive.
A question of light and color
Itās said that color has a profound effect on our state of mind, with orange and yellow supposedly connected with energy and vitality, green inducing a sense of calm and groundedness and white denoting a new start and sense of refreshment. However, different colors resonate with different people, so donāt be afraid to rewrite the rules when it comes to decorating your work space.
āI think everyone has a color palette, and colors they respond really well to,ā says Cathy, who works predominantly with neutral tones and dark colors in her designs. Donāt choose anything too busy or distracting, however. āStick to three colors, one of which will be an accent,ā Cathy suggests. āRemember, you want the space to be calm. If youāre a fan of patterned wallpaper, ask yourself if youāll still be a fan in a couple of yearsā time.ā
A well-lit office is also essential for mental wellbeing and harnessing focus. āChoose a naturally-lit spot with a window open to let some air in,ā suggests Colin, āthe opportunity to soak up some vitamin D is a big bonus!ā
Cathy agrees: āIf thereās a way to get natural light into the room ā do it.ā And if thereās no window in the space youāve chosen to set up your home working space? āConsider putting in a glass door to let some light in, instead,ā Cathy advises.
Stay organized
Having a tidy and organized workspace isnāt just important from an aesthetic point of view, although, as Cathy reminds us, āin the age of Zoom, people will be looking!ā ā itās also essential for productivity and focus, making you feel more capable of tackling the task at hand with fewer distractions.
There are various ways to achieve optimum organization, depending on the space youāre working in. If youāre in a smaller or shared space, for example, thereās no need to overfill it with unnecessary cabinets or storage units.
āLook up!ā advises Cathy. āCan you fit a wall unit or shelves above a desk to free up floor space, for example?ā Those of us with the possibility of a window seat area could go a step further, she suggests, and build shelving units in at the sides to keep files, documents and other bits and bobs tucked away at the end of the working day.
And a top tip? Donāt let people use your office space for storage. The bike that canāt stay on the porch anymore, the crib on standby for the next family reunion, the rarely-used gaming consoles...? Shut them away elsewhere ā donāt clutter up your working and thinking space with stuff thatās not essential to your work.
Atmospheric extras
Everybody has their go-tos for feeling relaxed, inspired or enthused ā an art print to admire or a yoga mat and candles on standby for regular stretching intervals. Cathyās personal enhancement for a home office on a budget? āPlants, plants, and more plants!ā
Greenery makes an ideal choice for home decoration, not least for your home office; plants purify the air, provide aesthetic pleasure and have been found to lower stress and illness, even providing healing qualities in hospitals.
Colin, on the other hand, opts for regular exercise intervals to keep the mind and body sound when working from home. āI plan my work day around exercise,ā he says, ābeginning with first thing in the morning, having just spent the night lying in bed. Beating the afternoon slump with some movement is also key for my productivity and wellness levels.ā
So, get searching for those yoga mats and home weight sets. Just donāt forget to tuck them away before you relax at the end of the working day.
Never miss an update. Subscribe to the Workplace blog.
Non perderti le novitĆ
Non perderti le novitĆ di Workplace iscrivendoti alla nostra newsletter e ricevi tanti ottimi contenuti.