The current pandemic has forced many employees to shift into a work-from-home setting to maintain health protocols and prevent contamination from other possible virus carriers. This new work setting has been quite difficult and stressful for some employees. Their home, which used to be a place of comfort, is now a part of their work-life, and this has caused increased stress. Still, employees are forced to adjust to this new setup since work is essential in these times.
With people starting to adjust to this new setting, many people scrambled around and tried to make some space in their homes to create an office environment that would be suited for their work area. Still, many people do not have separate or extra rooms in their houses to turn into offices or work areas. Some people live in one-bedroom houses, studio-type rooms, and loft-style apartments.
These types of houses may be too small to include a work area or a mini office for work-from-home employees. Still, with the correct optimization of the different factors in your home, you can maximize your living space to accommodate your work area or home office.
Setting Up Your Work Area/Home Office
One of the best types of apartments for redecorating is loft-style apartments. These apartments are characterized by high ceilings and large spaces, although they usually lack rooms since they were originally used as warehouses.
Still, the large open spaces in lofts are excellent for redecorating and can accommodate many wall-hanged furniture and cabinets, saving much space. Even if lofts are single-room apartments, these are excellent choices for building a home office for work-from-home employees.
It would be best to consider these several factors before setting up your working area, furniture, and gadgets. Here, we will talk about these factors and how you can manage them to optimize your living spaces.
1. Choose the Right Location
First, the location of your work area must be determined. The location is certainly an important factor because your apartment has different types of ambiance depending on the location.
Some spots in your home may be too bright due to open windows and direct sunlight or too dark due to lack of lighting. There could also be noise factors in your home, especially if your apartment is located in a busy neighborhood. Some spots may be open to noise pollution generated by the surrounding establishments.
There could also be some places in your apartment that are too hot at certain times of the day due to the exposure to the sun.
These factors may heavily affect your performance while working because they can cause distractions and discomforts. It also helps to make your work area where you won’t be easily distracted by the noise and activities of other household members.
An ideal work area must be free from ambient noise, well-ventilated, temperature-controlled, and sufficient artificial or natural lighting. It also helps if the area is well-decorated with relaxing designs and must be clean from scattered objects and other possessions.
2. Setting up Your Work Desk
Now that you have chosen an appropriate location for your work area, the next thing to consider is the furniture used for your work area. For your office, a desk is an essential piece of furniture, and the design of the desk also affects your comfort and productivity.
One factor to consider when choosing a desk is height. Some people prefer a high desk while some people prefer a low desk. This depends on the preference of the person and how comfortable it is for them. A desk set up at the wrong height can cause muscle aches in the shoulder and upper back areas because your shoulders will be holding up your arms in a prolonged position that you are not comfortable with. To avoid this, make sure to set your desk at the correct height where you feel most comfortable.
Of course, an office desk is not complete without its counterpart, an office chair! An office chair is different from a regular chair because most office chairs come with several functions that allow them to adjust their height and inclination.
Some office chairs also come with wheels that allow mobility so that the person using them does not need to stand up when reaching for objects across the desk.
There are still people who prefer traditional chair designs but remember to always choose a chair with a cushion. Since you will be sitting down for a long time, you need to have a cushion. Otherwise, you will experience muscle pains in your lower back, hips, and tailbone because the whole weight of your upper body will be pressing down on these bone parts. This can cause various negative effects on your health. So choose a chair with thick cushioning to make sure you are comfortable while working.
3. Finalize With Gadgets and Organizers
The final touch needed for your work area is setting up your gadgets and desk organizers. Many people use a laptop computer at home since their personal computer units are at their company offices. Laptops may be good on their own, but you can add several peripheral devices such as a keyboard or a mouse to improve your productivity.
A desk lamp can also be added to increase lighting during the nighttime. This will not significantly affect your electricity costs because you won’t be using it during the day since loft-style apartments usually have large windows that add natural lighting to your home.
You can also add other desktop gadgets such as mini fans and humidifiers to make you more comfortable.
Desk organizers are also useful for sorting out files and papers if your desk does not have a built-in cabinet. These organizers are generally cheap yet sturdy since they can be made using stiff materials such as hard plastic, wood, or thin metal sheets. Having an organized desk can also help you increase your productivity since it won’t take you much time to locate certain objects.
Now that you have considered every factor that affects your performance at work, you should have a great place to work while you are at home, and hopefully, it can reduce some of the stress you will feel even if you are in a work-from-home setting.
