Carving Out an Efficient Home Office during the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 28, 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic the new normal is working from home. Many of us are not set up to run businesses much less our own private office from our place of residence. There are some ways this can be implemented to create a more efficient office space:
- Find a good ergonometric chair. Using a chair that is meant for a dining room or a short sit will not do your body any favors sitting on it for hours in front of your computer screen. Your spine will thank you.
- Articulating key board trays will help you adjust the position of hands, wrists and arms and prevent carpel tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow and minimize arthritic symptoms when typing on the keyboard.
- Mobile ped files are file cabinets on wheels and can reduce the time spent bending over to reach your files which can create back and hip issues. The wheels provide easy mobility and versatile storage as you bring the files to you.
- The echo noise we have been hearing lately on Zoom conferencing can be distracting. To have better acoustics in your home office install acoustical fabric panels that contain the noise and your Zoom call will become more audible to your audience and not sound like an echo chamber. Use can use headsets for better acoustics for telephone calls. Noise in the house can create an environment in which it is harder to hear.
- Invest in plexi screens to protect you and others who might be joining you in your home office to work once the "at home mandate" is lifted and we are still practicing six feet social distancing. Plexi screens can keep out unwanted germs from getting into your work space. They can sit on the floor or the desk and can be delivered to your door without needing someone to install them. You can then reuse them when you can return to your brick and mortar office building in order to keep your fellow employees safe.
- Efficient lighting will prevent your eyes from tiring out while using the monitor screen. If you do not have good lighting in the room you are working from, purchase a LED lamp which you can order on line. You won’t even have to change the light bulb.
- Placing your home office near a window will give you good natural light and help with biophillic qualities. We all like being close to nature and it makes us feel good.
