Creating a healthy space to work from home

As an interior designer specializing in workplace strategy and design, I am often asked to help with home office setup. Since the Covid pandemic began, more and more of us are working from home at least part of the time, so I’d like to share my top 5 tips for creating a space to help you feel both productive and healthy in your work setup. These include: movement and posture; activity-based working; the importance of natural light; the benefits of plants and stimulating your senses with fragrance.

1) Movement

Working from home brings the risk of remaining too static throughout the day – which is detrimental to both your body and your ability to focus or think creatively! When you are going to the office, it is normal to move around – a lot more than you may be conscious of. Believe it or not, in a typical office setting, most people spend only around half of their working day actually at their desks*. We constantly move from desk to meeting to coffee bar to quick catch ups with a colleague, to another meeting, and so on. 

Working at home, however, we tend to become enslaved by zoom and find ourselves embedded at our desks (or even working from our beds), with minimal movement. 

With this in mind, it is beneficial to have the option to stand at your desk. This can be achieved in several ways: 

• Go all out and treat yourself to a height-adjustable desk (now very affordable, Ikea does a great model for a very reasonable price – I am actually standing at my desk while I write this). 

• Consider a desk riser, a device that sits on top of your normal desk and allows you to switch easily to work at standing height.

• DIY solution: move your laptop to a higher working surface such as a breakfast bar, or pile up a stack of solid books to raise your laptop achieve a comfortable standing height.

However you manage it, enabling your body to change position several times throughout the day is important and benefits your circulation, your posture, and reduces neck and back pain. If standing periodically through the day is not an option for you, then schedule regular breaks to move away from your desk and get your blood circulating again.

2) Work Zones

You don’t have to sit in the same place day in day out! This also helps with encouraging a bit of movement and shifting locations for specific activities can actually help your productivity, if you have a variety of tasks you need to tackle during your day. 

Look around your home and identify spaces you feel comfortable working in:

• A suitable place for calls and meetings 

• An area that helps you with focus work – most likely a quiet spot without distractions

• If you like the buzz of background activity while tackling routine tasks such as email, perhaps working from the kitchen table with your family or housemates could help.

3) Natural Light

Natural light is important to our wellbeing in general, and helps reduce the risks of eyestrain, headaches and fatigue often connected with spending long hours on devices.  Natural light also helps boost vitamin D, essential for your immune system and helping your body absorb calcium. Exposure to natural light is also important to sleep quality.

• Wherever possible, work close to a window or in a space with abundant natural light

• Looking at the view through a window periodically enlarges/changes your field of view, and helps reduce eye fatigue and headaches.

• If you cannot access good natural light to work by, then its even more important to get away from your computer for short breaks during daylight hours, and get outside! In fact, even if you can work by a window, getting outside into the sunlight and fresh air is hugely beneficial, promoting the release of serotonin which helps improve your mood and reduce anxiety.

4) Plants

Plants help purify the air as well as helping to reduce stress and create a calming atmosphere. The air inside our homes is actually among the most polluted environments, thanks to the abundance of materials containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), used in many glues and surface finishes of standard household items. Plants also help freshen the air through their absorption of CO2 and releasing oxygen. And several studies** have linked plants to improved concentration, stress reduction, and mood boosting.

Easy plants to keep on your desk include:

ZZ Plant (Zamicoculus Zamifolia)

a succulent that doesn’t need too much water or light, it has lovely glossy leaves and looks stunning on a white desk.

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Comosum)

o   low maintenance, with lovely striped green and white leaves that curl and add texture to your desk landscape. These also look great in a hanging basket such as this macrame planter by Bazar Bizar

Add some gorgeous colour and texture with a Rex Begonia.

o   Fabulous variations with jewel-like colours through the foliage create an ever-changing natural artwork! Pair with a jewel-coloured planter pot for an uplifting burst of colour on your desk. 

5) Scent

Usually banned in the office, but home fragrance in the form of reed diffusers or natural scented candles can help lift your mood and create an atmosphere in which you love to be, helping you to feel good while you work.

When choosing a scented candle, opt for high quality, over cheap price. Why? Because:

• Premium quality candles last longer – you should look for a minimum 40 hour burn time from a 200g candle. 

• They burn cleaner, with the wax being free from petroleum derivatives and harmful chemicals, and the wicks should be 100% cotton, lead-free.

• If your candle is presented in a beautiful container, then a high quality candle will burn down without leaving residue, allowing you to keep and re-fill or re-purpose the container after!

• Premium quality candles will not overpower with too much scent like many cheap ones do. This is important because too much scent release can irritate your senses

• Note that burning candles, especially low-quality ones, can increase the level of fine particulates in the air which can impact on several health issues such as Asthma or other respiratory problems. 

Diffusers are a great alternative to candles, especially since there is no risk of fire with them! 

• Opt for essential oils rather than synthetic fragrances, to avoid harmful effects on air quality

• Essential oils are helpful for a range of situations, for example helping with a head cold, purifying the air, or helping to promote sleep quality.

• Good quality Reed Diffusers will last at least 6 weeks, and add a beautiful decorative element to your work or relaxation space as well as contributing delightful scents!

Working from home has many benefits, and I hope my top 5 tips will help you to work more comfortably and reduce some of the negatives of working from home. Any questions or comments? Get in touch!

*https://veldhoencompany.com

** https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/indoor-plants-can-instantly-boost-your-health-happiness-ncna781806