Many managers feared, until very recently, that working from home would lead to a decrease in productivity. But with the outbreak of COVID-19, a lot of companies had to adapt to the concept of remote work, and probably didn’t anticipate the many benefits of this new age working arrangement.
The benefits of working from home
It turns out that many employees are willing to work longer hours at home, and as a result, businesses get more done. With no more excuses for showing up late or leaving early, people are also working their ‘’full-shift’’ at home. In a lot of cases, people are putting in more time as well.
It is simply undeniable that working from home offers a lot of benefits: it saves commuters time and money, reduces congestion, and lowers pollution. But everyone is experiencing this crisis differently, and too much isolation is stressful to some. This has increased the need for hybrid offices that allow workers to come into the office, as well as work from home. So, in the aftermath of the Coronavirus crisis, we can expect to work from home more often. Set yourself up for success and invest and make your home office work for you.
Work life balance
One of the biggest things people struggle with is keeping their work-life balance intact. You can combat this by creating a dedicated area for your home office. This will help to create a boundary between the two worlds. Identify a quiet spot with good lighting as you will be spending hours there when you work from home.
Declutter
Scrutinise your home office and identify what you really need there. Allocate a spot for everything crucial to getting your work done, then pack all the unrelated items away. Large furniture pieces and boxes can be put in storage. (Maybe we have just the solution for you? View our storage units over here.)
Cardboard boxes offer a cost-effective way to declutter your home office. Smaller items and appliances are easy to stow away in boxes. Use big boxes to keep large lightweight items out of sight, and small boxes to make heavy items like books more manageable. Visit our Box Shop to stock up on everything you need to declutter.
Set up your space
Your home office doesn’t have to be a separate room, but you should keep it out of areas you use for relaxing. For improved work-life balance, try packing up your home office at the end of the day to signal to your brain that the workday is done. If you struggle to end your day when you said you would, call in the help of a friend or partner and ask them to check in with you at a certain time on days when you work from home.
Treat the space where you work from home as you would your office desk: use ergonomic furniture that allows you to work comfortably for eight hours and limit distractions by keeping your home office neat and tidy.
It is important to create a space to help you focus, no matter where you decide to work from home. Every item in the room is competing for your brain’s attention, and as your brain-energy wanes throughout the day, so does your ability to channel your focus where it is needed. When you declutter your home, your brain doesn’t have to spend energy on ignoring those distractions and can better prioritise what is important. So, schedule time to regularly get rid of the unnecessary things that tend to take over.
Teleworking doesn’t change our day-to-day work, but where we do it. Therefore it is important to take control of your space. Why not create the office you’ve always wanted? Going forward, we probably won’t go into the office all the time, so, the habits we form now will have a lasting impact on our shift to working from home.