Work from home

Just recently accepted a promotional opportunity as a recruiter that will be remote from home. This would be the first time that I would be working in this capacity. Many online and Zoom meetings to come...

Any best practices for the home/office set up? Currently my home set up has our desktop for recreational use in our upstairs' living room that doubles up as kid's arts and craft area. Needless to say, toys are everywhere. I have also considered building a loft queen bed set up in our guest bedroom to have a dedicated closed-door space for me to work from. And also, be able to shut out after office hours are done and I can make sure I fiscally and mentally walk away from work.

Any and all ideas welcomed! I start on 1/23 but have been given a realistic adjustment time from my new Team.

TIA!!

 

Get a sweet office chair. Herman Miller. I have a huge monitor and power stand up sit down desk. Make your set up nice. If you are comfortable it works better. Also remember ergonomics. It is easy to screw yourself up from home I am a legs on desk guy now unfortunately.



Also understand the home office tax break.

 

Been working from home for about 3 years now -

Having a designated space to work is a major key for several reasons (like having: privacy while you work, quiet place for meetings, an area that locked away to avoid when not working, etc).

The first thing I noticed when I started working from home is that my office chair was not nearly suffice for what I needed and after a lot of research I ended up buying a gaming chair. I don't play video games but they have great back support and adjustability for ergonomics.

Also, a huge game changer for my overall health has been going for walks, or just leaving the house on my breaks. When I first started I wouldn't leave my house for almost a week and it would kind of get to me mentally. I'm not a super social person to begin with but enough time in one place can drive anyone mad.

And 100% agree with what @mhemberg said about the electric standing desk.

Hope that helps and congrats on your promotion!

 

You definitely need a separate room you can close the door in when working, especially in meetings.I have a desk in a spare bedroom, a company laptop and a second monitor (actually a TV with input for computer connection). It’s been a while since we used zoom but it has virtual backgrounds you can use including office. I sometimes use that on Teams but others do as well and we all know, not faking anything just hiding bedroom lol.
These days we usually do teams with video off.

 

Been working from home since 2012. Not all full time. My office is 6 miles away but all home since feb 2020.

I have an actual office and desk for my docking station, multiple monitors and iPad for music and tv (mainly background noise) while I work . When I was in the office on some days my laptop was my third monitor but can’t fit it open on my desk and two is fine for me at home.

A door is helpful for teams or zoom meeting with barking dogs. I don’t have kids but imagine a door would help for distractions and noise.

good chair is always good. I eat through my lunch breaks so only work 8-4 having space on my desk is a must for me and my notepad for notes.

My office is also my music room with my guitars and I definitely take some play breaks throughout the day. Walk the dog around the block. Getting up and away from the screens for 10 minutes or so every few hours is helpful. Like being in the office. Also some of my breaks are chores around the house, do dishes. Next break clean toilets, etc. I know, not all fun but keeps the house clean and everything gets used a lot more.

 

Agree with chair being really important. I'm using a steelcase now but previously had a herman miller. You can't go wrong with most but just get a good chair. No IKEA crap chairs. Makes a huge difference while WFH. If you're uncomfortable you will get distracted and find reasons to get up more often. Would also recommend dual or even triple monitors if you can for multitasking.

 

Like most people have already said, get a great chair. I first started with a Staples special, but upgraded after my first year. I now have Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 Series XL and it’s been night and day. I’m not a video game player anymore, but everything i read and the advice i got was to get a gaming chair that’s made for long times of sitting.

 

thank you all so much!! ill start researching gaming chairs and also talk to my accountant this tax season so I can prepare for next year. Was not aware of this, thank you Mehemberg!!

my new leader just sent the request for my issued laptop, and I am able to request up to 2 monitors (currently use 2 at work, I am very visual).

my wifes concern is the health aspect of things. I currently walk anything from 7-10 miles a day avarage. and going from all that activity to a lot less she worries im going to loose myself. I love walking around my neighborhood on my days off, I can definatelly see myself walking throught the day to keep myself sain and keep me active.

my 2 boys are about to turn 3 and 2 respectively and they can tear up the place in a shuteye.

im also getting a separate camera besides the laptop one, so I was thinking perhaps setting it up on a stand up location to change up the pace while interviewing candidates on in short 30 meetings.

what about wifi boosters or anything just to be a bit mobile incase I wanna take it outside to the lanai? living in FL taking up the good weather and sunshine is a peark…

 

I keep exercise equipment in my home office. Spin bike, bench, and dumbbells. It took a minute to create a good routine, but it's worth it. Also, connect directly into your router instead of using wifi. Nothing worse than an employee not able to perform the task and blaming the "slow internet connection".

 

What everyone else has said. Splurge on a chair. I will soon add one of those "balance ball chairs" as I have terrible back pain. Separate room for office. If carpeted room, get one of those glass/hard plastic desk chair mats. Stay away from the kitchen and snacking best you can during the day. Exercise...I have a rower right next to my setup. After demos, idjits at said demos and overall frustration I go directly to the rower and blow off some steam.

And side note. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be working from home full time. I may just end up extending retirement because of this awesome setup.

 

Yeah, get out, take walks, eat lunch away from your desk. You’ll find that you work a lot more when working from home so i personally don’t feel bad actually taking a lunch or reasonable breaks.

One thing for me that has worked is “commuting home”. Usually three days a week when my 9 hours are done, I’ll get into the car and drive to the grocery store or something. To me it helped me recognize my day was done, i was working 10-12 days before doing this.

 

Lol love the calendar =)

 

Looks like some vintage 80's stuff.

 

Good ol Bettie Page

I had to cut the image short. She's not wearing a top

Waiting on my 2022 Calendar still

 

I was off by 30 yrs. Watched a documentary on prime couple weeks back. Tragic story.

 

Yeah, pretty messed up.