A Guide to Working from home
Are you working from home right now?
Chances are that you’ve been doing it for a while now.. So have we! See our guide to working at home below for some of our thoughts on what we think is important.
Regardless of what Tier you are in after lockdown, the current global coronavirus pandemic has made working from home as much a part of our routines as breakfast, lunch or dinner and therefore requires just as much thought as your weekly meal prep would.
And due to COVID-19, the effects on our working environments have been far reaching, be it to our health and wellbeing or our productivity levels and ergonomic comfort. If you’re new to working from home or even if you’ve been doing it since March 2020, we’ve created a run through of the key things to know when decking your home office out.
The Space
If you are working from home whether in a full-time or part-time job, it is essential to separate your working and living spaces. Ensure you are stationed somewhere quiet and away from the main thoroughfare of the house. While feng shui advisors recommend placing a plant or a fountain near your desk, the reality of mountains of paper, post-it notes and pens may prevent you from achieving this kind of harmony. Focus may be better placed on investing in a pair of noise cancelling headphones – there are some great ones here – or have you heard about a White Noise machine? “If you ever need to block out the world for some peace of mind, having a white noise machine handy can make your day go by much more smoothly” look here to help create that zen-like work state.
The Screen
Eye-strain is a common affliction for modern day office and home workers and is something that many believe is unavoidable. With growing awareness and understanding of the long-term effects staring at screen can have on your eyes, engineers are coming up with genius ways to alleviate these issues. Things to look out for when reviewing a new screen purchase are whether it is compatible with Blue light filter technology or it’s Adaptive Brightness capabilities which work by altering the display depending on your surroundings.
The Chair
If your employer is sending you home to work, you should conduct a self-assessment of your workstation. Simply plugging yourself in at the kitchen table and sitting at a dining chair all day every day will not do your back or blood circulation any favours. By law your employer should conduct one with you but you can get ahead of the game by reviewing this handy downloadable document
The Refreshments
Being away from the office kitchen can be a blessing, especially if your stomach turns at the thought of another freeze dried Americano. Now is the perfect time to invest in a coffee machine and while this beverage can be a highly subjective topic, one thing to always consider is the impact your brewing method can have on the environment. As pods are now the at-home-go-to choice, work has been done to maximise their sustainability. The Independent have collated a list of the top machines here and the best eco-friendly pods to pair them with
The Gains
Thanks to the genius of Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, it became nationally known that if you worked from home for even just one day since April 6th 2020, you could claim tax relief for a full year, worth up to £125!
The Nomadic Opportunity
And if that isn’t enough and you are truly fed up of working from home here in the UK, why not try a change of scenery and move to Barbados? The Barbadian Government are now accepting applications for a new visa called the Barbados Welcome Stamp which allows foreign nationals to move to the Caribbean for up to a year and remain working remotely from the Island. Never mind a potted plant to boost your feng shui when you’re a hop and a skip away from the ocean!
At SimSof-IT we offer Tech Support in St Albans, Harpenden, Watford and the surrounding areas. Contact Andrew on 01582 787203 to discuss our range of services. For full details go to our website SimSof-IT. Stay up to date with older issues by following us on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn.