Category: workspace

Creating a home office – 4 top tips

Creating a home office - 4 top tips | H is for Home

Remote workers are making up a bigger proportion of the workforce than ever before. While some people prefer to rent a co-working space, and others love to sit with a hot coffee in their favourite café, many people favour creating a home office. As with any other part of your home, it must be somewhere that makes you feel your best and inspires you to think of great things and be as productive as possible. If you’re not sure where to start, it can feel like it’s not worth it to create a home office. Luckily, there’s a multitude of trusted tips you can follow, which will promise you the best home office for your working days.

Home security system installed on a red brick wall

Prioritise security

Your home will be something you want to keep protected at all costs. Having specialist equipment and important information stored in your home office can mean it’s more at risk of intruders. The trick to keeping you, your family and your work safe is to invest in a good burglar alarm. If you ask a trusted company like Eurolinksecurity.co.uk to help, you can rest easy knowing that everything is protected if a burglar were to come calling.

Home office desk and chair

Comfort is key

When you aren’t comfortable, it can be almost impossible to work. If your chair causes back pain and your desk has little space beneath for your legs to move, you could be at risk of facing serious health problems later in life. Ideally, you should be investing in a comfortable and sturdy office chair, which supports your back. If you’re pursuing a more creative career, it’s also wise to have a space in your home office to accommodate these aspects. For example, someone who has a jewellery-making company may need a small studio space to work in alongside their office space.

Personalised home office

Keep it personal

One of the biggest attractions to having a home office is that you’re surrounded by home comforts. It helps you to stay motivated when you’re having a bad day. It can also mean you can get support from family members if you need it. Admittedly, your home office and the rest of your home should stay separate so as not to intertwine the two. However, there’s nothing to say you shouldn’t decorate your work space. Family photographs, soft furnishings and other knick-knacks will help stimulate you rather than inspire dread when you wake up in the morning.

Pot plants on a home office desk

Bring nature indoors

Nothing diminishes work efficiency more than having a stuffy, dark, uncomfortable office. When you’re creating your work zone, you should be conscious of trying to get as much natural light to fill the space as possible. Choosing a neutral colour scheme can help maximise this light, and you should also consider including attractive pot plants that help purify the air and bring cheerfulness to the room. Nature is known to benefit the mind in many ways, which can only do further wonders for your home office and your career.

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Essential items to include when designing your home office

All white home office

With the invention of internet and portable computers, working from home is becoming an ever more accessible and popular lifestyle choice. Whether you have decided to run your own business, having a baby or enjoy home comforts far too much, when deciding to work at home it is a good idea to set up a home office which will be your work zone. Below is a list of essential items which should be included when designing your home office.

Laptop, notebook & pen, mobile phone and coffee

Computer

Virtually all jobs which require an office environment will require a computer to write documents, access the internet and send emails to clients. A laptop is a good choice, because it will allow you to take the computer out with you if you need to meet clients etc. If you like working on a big screen but are short on cash, instead of splashing out on an expensive desktop computer, why not by a monitor screen which you can link to your laptop, doubling it up as a desktop computer.

Broadband speed test result | H is for Home

High speed internet connection

There is nothing worse than spending hours waiting for web pages to load or media to buffer. Not only can this be frustrating but it is also a huge waste of time which could be put to more effective use. When looking for an internet connection ideal for a home office, wireless, fiberoptik internet is a wise choice for that high speed connection which will allow you to use multiple devices simultaneously. This is ever more important if you have a large family with many people connected at once. Virgin media boasts being one of the fastest internet providers currently.

Ergonomic chair in a home officecredit

Ergonomic office chair and desk

If you are taking working from home seriously, it is likely you will be doing a good 9-5 or similar shift in the home office. Therefore, it is important that you have comfortable, ergonomic working conditions to work in, to increase comfort and reduce physical damage to your body through excessive straining over time. A good place to start is spending some cash on a good quality ergonomic office chair. Make sure the one you decide to buy has been reviewed by a third party to avoid any unpleasant surprises. This will prevent back strain and aches which develop from excessive straining. A large desk, tailored to your height will also prevent hunching which can be bad for posture over time and prevent the development of back problems as you age.

Storing office papers and pens

Organisation equipment

One of the most important tips when running a home office is to ensure it is tidy and organised. A messy environment can be both mentally and physically stressful. Not only will you waste precious time finding important documents and files in a heap of items, but a cluttered work place often leads to a cluttered mindset and therefore you may become less efficient in your job. It is therefore important to install lots of storage units within the office for different items. A few simple, cheap storage units you can buy are filing trays for all your important letters. Ring binders for all your important documents and an online storage account for all your important virtual documents. Dropbox is an online storage provider with a good reputation.

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Four cinematic offices you’ll never forget

Still from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)credit

Of course, the main thing we see when we’re watching a film is the actors and their interactions; we listen to their dialogue and watch their body language to get the full import as to the movie’s message.

Sometimes, however, the environment they’re in is just as important – it sets the backdrop, makes us feel free, fearful or inspired. In films which feature offices, you’d be forgiven for overlooking many of the sets – they’re just there to provide a place to sit, to show that people are at work. Then there are the films that use the office setting as a protagonist in itself – after all, many of us spend five days a week in one of these places, so why wouldn’t these environments loom large?

Here are four films that use offices as effective – and memorable – characters.

Still from 'The Incredibles' (2004)credit

The Incredibles

Life as a decommissioned hero is a miserable experience for Mr Incredible and there’s no greater sign of this than his cookie-cutter, grey and oppressive little office cubicle. This box is where he sits day after day, trying not to deny insurance pay-outs to elderly clients, until his bullying jobs-worth of a boss pushes him too far and ends up pile-driven through each and every wall in the place. This 2004 hit gives us a worthy metaphor for busting out of corporate chains if ever there was one.

Still from 'The Matrix' (1999)credit

The Matrix

Another maze of grey cubicles in this 1999 film, and another hero breaking out of them (almost). Keanu Reeves gets a weird call from a weird mobile phone that (weirdly) arrives in the post. The (weird) call tells him to get out of his office and so he tries. However, he (probably quite sensibly) bottles it and the men in black grab him and stifle further comment by making his mouth seal over. That doesn’t happen at your average commercial property in St James, eh?

Still showing Floor 7½ from Being John Malkovich (1999)credit

Being John Malkovich

1999 was a year for surreal offices and the Mertin-Flemmer Building in Being John Malkovich was particularly strange, what with having a half-sized floor and all. Floor 7½ gives us some very memorable moments – a pastiche corporate training video which explains the story behind the half-floor being just one. Apparently, a sea captain fell in love with a dwarf and promised to build a half-sized floor in his new office building just for her. If that wasn’t weird enough, a filing cabinet on this floor hides a portal into John Malkovich’s consciousness. Would you go through it? Really?

Still from American Psycho (2000)credit

American Psycho

This 2000 film looks back at 1980s bear-pit corporate culture through the eyes of Patrick Bateman, who may or may not be a status-driven murdering sociopath. Bateman is a mergers and acquisitions specialist who hangs his entire identity and mental stability on his cool clothes, his fancy juicer and the exotic fruit he pushes through it and his moisturiser. When his colleagues and rivals show how cool and influential they are too, he doesn’t like it. When there’s a good old dinkle-swinging contest over business cards in a conference room, Bateman finally tips over the edge and then it’s nail-guns and dead tramps all the way.

What films can you think of that contain iconic or memorable offices?

The dos and don’ts of shared office space

Co-working spacecredit

Shared office space can be a hoot – it can be great for networking, creativity and for saving money on the monthly office rent. It’s also good socially; anyone who works from home on a regular basis will tell you how isolating it can become after a while. However, if you go into a shared office space with the wrong attitude, that office space in Surbiton can easily become a war zone and going to work will become a nightmare for everyone. Here are a few dos and don’ts to help you to guarantee a harmonious – and productive – workspace.

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Do be considerate

Get to know your co-workers so you know how they operate. If they need peace and quiet in the afternoons, and you’re loud on the phone, go outside when your BFF calls. If you’re a compulsive communicator and your phone and laptop ping every two minutes, set them to silent.

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Don’t be untidy

This is an extension of being considerate and is equally important at your own desk and in shared areas. There are people who simply can’t work in a mess and so your litter, messy shelves and rows of unwashed mugs will actually affect their productivity. They may also feel compelled to clean up after you, and that’s just not on. Clean up after yourself!

Working together at a computercredit

Do talk to people

A huge benefit of shared office space is the chance for interaction with people. You can chat, share a coffee and ideas, head out for drinks and maybe even collaborate.

Man shouting into a tin can phonecredit

Don’t talk too much

Keep chit-chat to reasonable levels – no blow-by-blow accounts of drunken antics, TV spoilers or inane jokes, especially if it looks like others are busy. If you’re dying to catch up on some gossip, head out for lunch instead. Also, if someone looks busy, leave them alone.

Office deskcredit

Do make it personal

You can make your desk and space your own. Of course, you need to check with the leasing agent what you are and aren’t allowed to do, but a few photos won’t hurt. Don’t, however, think your favourite oil burner fragrance or your pet scorpion will be hits with everyone.

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Don’t just huddle at your desk

Use all the amenities – that conference room is there to be used, as is the break-out room and even that patch of garden. If you need to have an awkward conversation with someone, either over the phone or in person, take it away from your desk. If you’re having a meeting, use a meeting room – your desk isn’t the best place for a frank exchange of views.

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Do chip in for the kitty

Give some money to the tea and coffee fund, and stick the kettle on now and then. Bring some biscuits or home-made cakes in once in a while and encourage others to do the same.

Hopefully these tips will help you to create a harmonious atmosphere in your office space. You could also use them to help others to get along, especially if they’re breaking one of these golden rules. We all want harmony at work, right?

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