5 Practical Tips for Setting Up Your Own Home Workstation

The pandemic has introduced the corporate world to a new way of working – from home! While most employees and employers felt an initial decline in overall productivity, work from home has actually grown up upon the working class and in fact, has made them more productive than ever according to multiple studies. While work from home has proved beneficial for companies in terms of increased productivity and lower facilitation and fixed costs, it has proved tremendously beneficial for employees as well in terms of maintaining a work-life balance.

By spending considerably most of their home at home, individuals have been able to balance their work responsibilities and home very well. Many professionals, especially women, tend to suffer and compromise their own health owing to a load of responsibilities on their shoulders and often suffer from burnout. However, by working from home, women have been able to leverage the added convenience and have taken advantage of their workplace’s remote working policies to dedicate time to their own health, home, and work in a much more productive way.

However, working from home comes with its own challenges, and women are required to ensure that they separate their workspace within their homes in order to enjoy a relaxed and disturbance-free environment to dedicate the required time and energy to their work responsibilities. Listed below are a few tips that women can make use of to create their own home-based workstation to ensure a boost in their productivity and output:

1. Design it your way

Research proves that employees who tend to decorate their workspaces according to their own taste and preferences – as opposed to those who work in “by default” workspaces – tend to be increasingly productive and experience a higher degree of job satisfaction. Hence, whichever space or room in your home you’re dedicating to making yourself an office, you need to ensure that you put your personal taste and style into use. Any personal items or keepsakes that motivate you or are dear to you should be placed on your desk. If you love a bright workspace, use colorful post-its as compared to regular ones, etc.

2. Ensure web-based security

Since a lot of professionals work remotely, they often need to connect to their work networks to access files and conduct other work-based activities. However, connecting to your work network remotely can be dangerous as you risk your security by not having encryption on your online activity. This puts at risk your personal and work-based information and makes your system vulnerable to attack by hackers. In order to prevent that from happening, it is recommended that you install a VPN router in your home. What a VPN does is it hides your IP address and encrypts your online traffic, therefore third parties or hackers are unable to intercept the network you’re connected to.

3. Incorporate natural lighting in your workspace

Irrespective of whether you dedicate a corner to your workstation or an entire room, your work desk ought to receive an ample supply of natural light during the day. Researches prove that professionals who worked in offices that received ample daylight tend to be high-achievers, receive greater incentives than their colleagues, and overall demonstrate higher levels of productivity in the workplace. Not only is working in sunshine good for your health – and your daily Vitamin D intake – it also is a great way to be environmentally smart and eco-friendly.

4. Ensure a distraction-free workspace

Whether it be your spouse, children, or pets – family members can tend to hamper your productivity. A number of professionals report embarrassing situations in which family members either start speaking loudly or playing music or simply show up during video conference calls, and disturb the entire work team. In order to prevent that from happening, ensure that your workspace remains private and free from any distractions at all. Your workspace should be located in the most peaceful area of your home. While a separate room for an office is recommended, if your home doesn’t have a free room, you can always create a temporary division using room dividers. You also need to make sure that your family members cooperate with you and your work time should be communicated to each member to ensure no unfortunate instances take place in that particular time frame.

5. Use ergonomic furniture

Ergonomic furniture does a lot of good for your physical health in the workspace. Considering that you’d spend considerable time at your desk sitting in your chair, you need to ensure that both those pieces of furniture are ergonomic and do not harm your physical health in the long run. Sitting in uncomfortable office chairs tends to give a lot of professionals prolonged back problems and oddly built desks tend to present individuals with pain in their wrists. Hence, ensure that you invest in good quality ergonomic furniture, and if you cannot afford it yourself, ask your employer to set it up for you accordingly.

Setting up your office in your home isn’t as difficult and time-consuming as most individuals make it out to be. By incorporating the above tips in your endeavor to set up your workstation at your home, you are likely to take a step towards increased productivity and overall wellness.