TECH UP THE HOME OFFICE

Let’s face it: your makeshift home office of the past few months will see much more of you than you thought it would – so you might as well make it a more pleasurable space

Even when the lockdown is over, a proportion of previously officebased workers will continue working from home at least a few days a week.

If working from home is your long-term reality too, it’s time to chuck out the telephone directories you’ve been using to prop up your laptop, and invest in some decent tech.

You’ll probably have a work-supplied laptop. The big advantage of laptops is that you can work anywhere. The major drawback is that they’re an ergonomic disaster. Anyone who’s spent a few hours hunched over a tiny keyboard, squinting at a spreadsheet, knows that your shoulders soon feel like you’ve been lifting bags of concrete.

Shafeeqah Isaacs, head of consumer education at financial services provider DirectAxis, says by investing a little in a few bits of technology and some decidedly lowtech solutions you can make some of the pain and frustrations of working at home go away.

“So many of us just adapted to working from home as a necessity, but perhaps didn’t give much thought to how we were setting up our workspaces and the potential implications in terms of our own comfort and ability to do the job as efficiently and professionally as in the office.”

Tech up

As a first step to banish the Hunchback of Excel Spreadsheets, get a decent keyboard. There are plenty on the market, from standard keyboards that plug into a USB port on your laptop to fancier, more expensive alternatives that connect via Bluetooth and even ergonomically designed versions.

Choose one that suits your budget, needs and preferences.

A straight eye

Then you’ll need to consider how to get your monitor at eye height so a few hours at your desk doesn’t literally become a pain in the neck. There are plenty of adjustable laptop stands you can buy, which allow you to lift the screen to a comfortable height.

If you have the space and money, an alternative is to buy a monitor. Again, there are plenty of options and price points, depending on whether you need the definition to do high-end graphic design or just want to knock out a deck of PowerPoint slides.

It’s in the wrist

Now give some thought to your wrist. An ergonomically designed Bluetooth mouse paired with a gel wrist rest should help keep repetitive strain injuries like the dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome at bay. Alternatively, a small bean bag can do the trick.

USB hub

Depending on your set-up you may now be running short of USB ports to plug in the keyboard, monitor, phone, external hard drive and whatever other equipment you need. If that’s a problem, consider a USB hub which allows you to plug in and charge multiple devices.

Sitting pretty

Decent technology will go some way to making your home office a more comfortable place, but even the tech set-up is unlikely to compensate for an unsuitable or uncomfortable chair. Ideally get one where you can adjust the height and back support, so you can configure it to best suit your optimal working position. If a good chair is out of your budget, set a timer on your phone to remind you to have a break and stretch every hour or so.

Light it up

While you’re at it, think about lighting. Natural light is best, but there may not be enough where you’ve set yourself up. Also remember that, if you’re doing video calls, too much natural light or light coming from behind you can make it difficult for other participants to see you. An adjustable desk lamp may be the solution.

Need for speed

With children not at school and possibly a spouse or partner also working from home all gobbling bandwidth, you may need to upgrade your broadband package, particularly if you’re doing many video meetings. Conferencing apps such as Zoom and Teams typically need fast broadband connections to run effectively and can consume quite a lot of data. Where possible, keep your video off and use voice-only to save data.

You should also check your router. If it hasn’t been replaced in the past six years, think about getting a new one. This should increase the speed and range.

Shut it out

If children, noisy neighbours or other distractions are interfering with your productivity or interrupting your video calls, a set of noise-cancelling headphones might be the answer. Most models now have built-in microphones, so it can be used for online meetings.

Another consideration for a comfortable, efficient and effective home-office set up is a decent multifunction printer.

Being able to print, scan and copy at home means clients won’t have to wait until you’re next in the office or can visit a copy shop for a scan of a contract or other documentation.