How to Enhance a Home Office

More and more of us are working from home for one reason or another. Whether the choice is yours, your company’s, or your industry’s, we’ve gathered a few considerations to think about as you plan for the transition.

1. Lighting:

Working from home, you may not always have perfect light in the room where you work. A workaround for this is to use task lighting that highlights your work area. This is even more important if you do not intend to use space for a traditional desk.

2. Space-Planning:

A single room for work and sleep may not be enough space. Be sure to take your needs into account when you layout your home office space.

3. Storage:

When setting up a home office, it’s easy to accumulate things. You may have an incoming tide of papers and supplies that must be organized and put away. A home office should encompass all of your work needs, which means you will need storage suitable for paperwork and other supplies.

4. Supply Management:

How will you manage your supply and work needs when at home and mobile? If you regularly need to print out project plans, copies of things, or relevant material for meetings at the work office (or elsewhere), plan.

5. Telephone Use:

In many work-from-home situations, the landline is still your lifeline for business calls. Make sure you have a convenient space to take and make your office calls.

6. Technology:

When working from home, you need to be sure you have all your technology needs met. Will you have a dual monitor set-up? Will you be able to access files remotely via the Internet?

7. Communal Spaces:

If possible, it’s helpful to be near places where you can interact with other people (even if it is just a break room in your own house). This can be especially challenging for home business owners who work from a residential property where there is little to no space that is not your office space.

8. Privacy:

A common concern for people who work from home is when and how to let your household know when you’ll be working and when you’ll be available. If they don’t know, then they may interrupt your work time without knowing it.

Even as restrictions ease, interest in more permanent work-from-home scenarios is high among employees and becoming more readily accepted by companies.