Are you sitting comfortably?

Then, as tradition would have it, I’ll begin.

This week I have had three separate conversations with people who had either ordered, received, or - in one case - was literally in the process of taking delivery of, a new chair for their home workstations. The week before I had ordered one of those exercise ball things for my desk chair as none of my previous choices had been suitable for my posture or a ‘professional’ appearance on video calls. Now I’m not normally one for conspiracy theories (or selling office equipment) but it got me to thinking that something must be going on…

Many of us have been based at home since mid-March and only now we are thinking about how we might make ourselves comfortable and happy while we go about our daily work? 

On the surface this will probably prove a couple of key things – that we are super-committed to our work and haven’t noticed any discomfort til we had time to lift our heads up and that we are probably better at giving advice than taking it (how many times over the last few months have we told people to look after themselves and attend to their wellbeing whilst putting that stuff way down our priority lists?). However, digging a bit deeper into the topic there might be some further learning for us to consider:

1.     A new chair symbolises acceptance – when this all started how long did we REALLY think it might affect how we worked? Three weeks? Six max? Even when we got wind that it might go on a bit longer we might have felt as though our own situation was different and we could get back to how things were a bit quicker than others. Since March however viewpoints and estimates have changed sufficiently to the point where whatever happens, working from home will become a much bigger and more permanent part of life for some people. If we’re going to be here for a while, we may as well protect our backs and get something that complements the rest of the colour scheme.

2.     A new chair starts the office overhaul process – from this more comfortable vantage point, we can turn our attention to what else might need to be changed or introduced to give us a workspace that is conducive to productivity and inspiration. For lots of people, a ‘home office’ was seen as a luxury – maybe a style statement and somewhere to take the odd day working from home while waiting for the plumber to arrive without feeling like you were cheating. And indeed it is a luxury – I’ve seen people having to make do with kitchen worktops, coffee tables piled high with magazines and even ironing boards to try and recreate a suitable desk scenario. But as we face an extended stay at home, we need to move on from the chair and look at what else we need to have around us to be able to work comfortably and safely.

3.     A new chair brings added responsibility to speak up – it’s probably fair to say that back in the good old days we used to take our workspaces for granted. In the main (and trust me I’ve seen enough of the exceptions too) we could feel secure that our employer would give us a flat surface, some tools, that all-important chair and if we were lucky a view to help make our time at work a pleasant experience. But now creating that environment is up to us – and it might mean that we have to open a conversation with our bosses about what this might mean. Who has the key responsibilities for which aspects? Prior to the pandemic, if you had a laptop you were kind of ready to work from home. Now that might need to change, and it needs to be through a sensible discussion about what employees need and expect in terms of support and guidance and how employers might become as interested in those worktops and ironing boards as they were with their desks and pods. As ever, the best bosses will welcome the debate and between you, you will probably come up with some pretty good solutions. Others might need a bit of coaching to support them – if the first concern is budget, they are maybe looking at it the wrong way. But whichever pole best describes your boss, the current situation has helped employees to find their voice and be more active participants in the design and planning of what a post-COVID workplace should look like.

4.     A new chair is not an exclusive arrangement – whilst it’s right and proper to find a seat that makes you comfortable and helps you feel like you are at work in your own home, it shouldn’t be an excuse to chain yourself to whatever you use as your desk. There’s lots of great advice that has emerged in recent weeks about the need to take proper breaks, walk around and change locations depending on what tasks you are doing – so don’t become too attached to your new purchase at the expense of other places to park yourself!

So if you are still head down and haven’t considered what is propping you up every day maybe it’s time to think about treating yourself and getting that new chair. But don’t let it be the last adjustment you make, as we’re going to be here for a little while yet…