WORK FROM HOME OFFICE SUPPLIES
Working from home never used to be the norm, but since 2020 that option is now being used by more and more people. Were you caught out when COVID-19 first hit? Were you banging coffee mugs across the kitchen table, getting a sore butt from your kitchen chair, trying to make video calls with kids running behind you?
Having a great home office setup doesn't have to cost the earth. What's important is buying the home office essentials that are just the right size for your home workspace.
Even if you're space is limited, and you don't have much more room than what a minimalist desk will fit into, making sure to have everything suited for you ergonomically will do wonders for your mental health while working from home. Copylink has been supplying home office essentials for over ten years from their warehouse in Brendale, Brisbane.
Whatever type of Home Office you have we can help lift your game!
- an office chair
- a good desk with enough desk space for your needs
- computer screen
Additional items you should consider to make your home setup more like a proper office setting.
- An adjustable standing desk can provide many benefits to help remote workers get up out of their chair. Using a standing desk has been shown to help improve workers' health in any work environment and avoid sitting for long periods.
- Higher quality external video cameras can improve how you look and sound when making a video call.
- Wireless phone charger - this helps keep cables off of your desk and out of the way, as well as ensuring you have enough battery life for the next conference call.
- A seat cushion if your office chair is getting a little 'tired.'
- Lumbar support - if you can't get an ergonomic chair with it built-in, then there's plenty of add-ons you can use to help avoid back pain.
- A desk lamp to improve the lighting around your laptop or a larger monitor. Don't rely on natural light or the backlight of the monitor. Your work office has a lot more lighting than your home office.
- A lap desk can be helpful if you need to move into another room for a video conference.
- Noise-cancelling headphones are a helpful addition in any home workspace or if you head out to work at a coffee shop for a change of scenery.
- If you don't have the budget for noise-cancelling headphones, then at least think about wireless headphones. Having your hands free for phone or video calls will help make it easier to do your job. An added benefit is that you can all play music that suits you without bothering each other.
- A mouse pad.
- Think about a second monitor to help replicate what your usual workspace might be like.
- Power strips given you will all have multiple devices needing to be charged, including the wireless charger.
The productivity of remote work goes up when you ensure you have all of the right equipment and whether you only have a simple desk now and a laptop or are looking for some extras improving your home office is a little bit like building with lego. Just add to it as you go along, and you'll find that working remotely can be much easier than it might have been.
Even if you have to work in a temporary home office simultaneously as other family members, some ways and devices can help make remote working a more suitable work environment.
- Noise-cancelling headphones.
- Desk dividers.
- Ensure your internet access can reach other parts of your living environment, including outside areas, especially if you can work on a laptop screen.
- Take your conference calls in another room, or have your housemates do the same.
- A moveable laptop stand.
Making sure that you create a comfortable home setup to do remote work in is as essential to your mental health as it is to get work done. If everything is difficult, cramped, or you're fighting over cables, space, back pain, inadequate lighting, or just getting in each others way, then you'll hate the idea of working remotely.
If you read up on those who were successfully doing remote work before pandemics and lockdowns happened, you'll find that they all made sure they created a comfortable and welcoming home office even if they didn't have lots of space.
Many people rave about the benefit of having standing desks, but you don't have to go to that much expense. Revisit the home office essentials list above, make sure you've got the important ones covered, and add the things that will help make it more than just a desk with a laptop on it.
If there was one thing you should think about investing in before anything else, it's a quality office chair. Get an adjustable backrest, lumbar support and a comfortable seat cushion so it can be set to the correct height for you, and not only will you avoid back pain and discomfort, but you'll feel like you're 'at work' whenever you sit down in it.