What do we miss most about the office?

Despite the yearning for what went before, lessons from the workplace can help us recreate the best experiences of the office, at home. By applying the same principles of office design and culture, we can make subtle changes to our working environment and behaviours that can boost our wellbeing. Here is a starter for 10 on how you can simulate the best workplace experiences at home:

Perfecting your posture

For those of you that have not worked from home frequently in the past, we would not expect many of you, if any, to have the luxury of an ergonomic chair, desk and monitor at home. Therefore, most of you have probably adapted your dining table, kitchen island, bed or sofa, into a fully – or partially – functioning workplace. None of these spaces were designed for someone to be sat upright, working for hours, on a laptop.

To adapt your chair for better posture, you can buy lumbar supports online for as little as £5, or if you struggle to find one because everyone else has got there first, a rolled-up towel is a great alternative. Whilst seated, your arms should be at a right angle whilst resting on the table, if this is not the case then consider sitting on a cushion to raise yourself up or propping up the table if you are seated too high. Remember that your feet should always be flat on the floor, so adapt your position to accommodate this.

Finally, to ergonomically adapt your laptop, we would recommend a separate keyboard and mouse – both can be bought for relatively cheap online. You can also use a laptop riser stand to prevent hunching, however, a stack of cookbooks is a good no-cost alternative!

Happy hour

Prolonged periods of homeworking can cause people to fall out of touch with colleagues on a personal level, so it is incredibly important to maintain work relationships by dedicating time to chat socially.

We’re not encouraging alcohol consumption but creating a team ‘happy hour’ at the end of each day is a great way of socially interacting with each other. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a full hour, but there is one rule: Talking about work is banned! The call shouldn’t be mandatory, but it should be in people’s calendars. It gives team members something to work towards at the end of the day, and even acts as a little reward for the day’s work.

The best way to run this call would be on a platform like Zoom or Houseparty, where you can see every attendee. Some recommendations on activities include quizzes, charades or book clubs – a weekly Friday quiz is always well received!