Discussing Office Space at Home

Something that I am sure many of us have somewhat figured out but are still struggling with is working from home. There are many significant distractions that occur when working from home such as family events happening inside your home, children, and not having the proper workspace. I have heard a lot of talk about the former two elements, but I have not heard much talk about how to set up an ideal work-from-home office. In this article, I will provide some evidence as to what the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) states, then I will provide some of my own personal commentaries.

My Experience

Starting out with some types of work-from-home offices that are not the most ideal, SHRM stated, “...others inhabit bedroom corners and kitchen tables, work from couches and balconies, and take calls in the bathroom so as not to disturb family members and partners sharing their co-working space” (Maurer, 2021). As a current college student that has been completing courses online since March 2020, this is something that I have also fallen into. My mother is also working from home and in her position, she is in several Zoom meetings a day. She is only a door away from me and the walls in our house are not exactly soundproof, so that made it so I had to migrate downstairs to the kitchen to avoid any background noise in my Zoom meetings. Both my mother and I would be seen coming out of our “offices” a few times an hour because they were not of the best quality. At work, my mother mentioned she had a large desk filled with several drawers and filing cabinets. At home, all she had was a much smaller desk to work on with a chair from the kitchen. Likewise, while at college, I had a large desk will several different drawers to keep me organized. At home, I was forced to use my bed since I did not have an actual desk at the time.

Cheryl Jones’ Ideas

Like many of us, once the summer rolled around and it was revealed that this would be the new normal for a much longer period, my mother and I both invested into actual office equipment, and my mother moved into a larger room at the end of the hall. Another reason why we decided to invest in actual office equipment was that we both could feel our productivity slipping. Providing evidence from SHRM, a human resource information systems (HRIS) analyst, Cheryl Jones, stated, "Having a dedicated workstation really improved my productivity (Maurer, 2021). Providing further details of what exactly she did to her office to make her more productive, she stated, "I was facing away from my bed and right next to a window—it's quite comfortable” (Maurer, 2021). Going back to the challenges I listed from the opening paragraph, I believe one extra challenge that could be added there deals with working with a view of your bed in sight. As I previously mentioned, I had been completing schoolwork on my bed for a few months at the beginning of the pandemic. Because of this, I constantly felt tired, and I could not get as much work done as I knew I was capable of. I believe the same can be true when you are simply working and facing your bed. Think about this; you just finished your 3rd meeting of the day; you have already been working for about 4-5 hours with only a few breaks with still 4 hours to go. You are exhausted, but you see your bed right in front of you. I believe a decent amount of people will be mostly thinking about wanting to get done with work so that they can just go lay in bed. That is why when you remove that obstacle from the room, you will experience productivity increases.

Concluding this section, Cheryl mentioned one more thing she does and while it is not office-focused, it still relates to this topic. She recommends trying to “Find some self-care time during the day to ensure you can re-energize. For example, take at least a 30-minute lunch break away from your computer, step outside for a 30-minute walk or complete a workout video” (Maurer, 2021). That little step away from work is enough to help you recharge and finish the work day strong.

Mike Jackson’s Ideas

This section is designed to still talk about how to create an effective office, but using tips from a manager of employee experience named Mike Jackson. He had an interesting take on this because it appears that he is an avid exerciser. He recommends using an exercise bike desk. He stated, “With its flat desk surface, I can bring my laptop and work while I spend 30 minutes or an hour on the bike. I've found the desk bike is perfect for when I attend webinars—I can get my exercise in while also focusing on the topic of the session” (Maurer, 2021). With a vast majority of gyms still closed or at reduced capacity, I am sure some individuals are feeling down that they have not been able to get as much exercise as they would like. For those individuals that are feeling this, the exercise bike desk may be a quality option for them. The last detail he recommends is securing a monitor and docking station for your home set-up. This is where you can complete your work using two monitors, which Mike says is “absolutely critical to my work-at-home experience” (Maurer, 2021).

Colleen Garrett’s Ideas

Transitioning, this section will discuss office tips with a recruiter named Colleen Garrett. Starting with something simple, she recommends buying an ergonomic chair with a supplemental seating cushion to provide support throughout the day (Maurer, 2021). She also has an interesting take on what she does to her office to help keep her productive. She says that she shares office space with her husband. She says she does this because "I don't know if we'll be lucky enough to always have this time together, but, for the moment, being able to have mornings back without the commute, lunch together and walks in the southwest Florida sun over the winter months has been a true gift that I am so grateful for” (Maurer, 2021). While some people enjoy having their own workspaces, she and her husband enjoy sharing because it appears it is doing wonders for their relationship. This is a great tip that any couples working from home might be able to implement.

Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, the pandemic has placed a lot of stress on people’s lives, one of the reasons being a subpar office space. Because the pandemic has been occurring for the past year, many people may have already found an office space/method that works for them, which is great. However, others still may be struggling with this and it is my hope that by sharing other people’s ideas/methods for tackling this issue, it can help those struggling to find something that works for them.

Cole Buckentin is a senior at Central Washington University who is studying Business Administration with a double specialization in Human Resource Management and Leadership & Management. Cole has a passion for learning new things and helping others any way that he can. It is this passion that ultimately led him to study HR and management. He hopes to use his passion for learning to excel in the business field and continue to find new ways to aid others.