September 9, 2020

Home office inspiration, history and routines

Are you working from home these days? Do you have an actual home office or is the kitchen, or even an ok sized closet, serving as your workspace? If your living area is limited, efficiency and a professional appearance can be a real challenge – especially if you’re not the only family member that needs to be productive and presentable on a daily basis.

Most experts predict that employers will have a more flexible approach to where employees are situated while working in the future. If you’ve got a bit of extra space and money, setting up a home office is a smart choice.

Inspiring ideas

Putting a little effort into making your space comfortable and conducive help getting the job done. Need some inspiration? Architectural digest – international authority on design and architecture – has gathered 65 home office ideas and styles that will inspire you to design a work-friendly space at home.

The rise and fall and rise of the home office

As stated earlier, working at home is more widely accepted than ever. But how did our offices end up in our homes in the first place? Bloomberg’s article What happened when the office came home? On the history of the home office covers every aspect of the phenomena – from the early 19th century to thoughts about the future trends. Here’s an example: ”For a long time, most offices were, in fact, home offices. Business owners often “lived above the shop” and had a dedicated workspace for performing the administrative tasks. They also took the form of designating a corner of a workshop as an office through the placement of a writing desk.” The article also concludes that the present renewed emphasis on dedicated home offices will persist even as the pandemic passes, that we will insist on keeping one foot of our laboring lives in our homes:“Indeed, the most coveted amenity of the post-pandemic home may be an extravagant variation on the home office: the double or even triple office, with two or more separate workspaces within a household, so that spouses and kids can all get through their respective working and schooling days with less friction.”

Productivity and wellbeing

Feeling comfortable working from home isn’t all about the space or where your computer is situated. Understanding that you do not need to, nor should be, “on” all the time is an important key to wellbeing and productivity. Here are a few of the recommendations from International SOS:

• Build a healthy daily routine by maintaining regular work hours and set frequent break times for lunch/coffee. Also create your dedicated workstation and ground rules around it.
• Take care of your physical and mental wellbeing by staying active and move around when possible.
• Stay connected with your team to maintain your motivation. Check in with your team frequently but also make time for small talk.

You will find the complete list of recommendations here.

With several leading technology companies such as Twitter, Fujitsu, Facebook and Google, suggesting employees might be allowed to work from home for a long period of time or even permanently – the home office is most likely part our “new normal”.