By Janet Pogue McLaurin
COVID-19 is disrupting our lives. Working from home is now a sudden reality. Whether you were in a routine of working at the office or a coworking site, most of us started to work from home this week. The conversation has now shifted from workplace wellness" to how to work virtually — and how to do so effectively.
U.S. workers prefer a well-designed office space over working from home. Place matters. So, how can we apply the best practices that make an effective corporate workplace, and instead create a great workplace at home?
Workstyle Factors: Gensler’s latest workplace research found that U.S. workers in companies of 100 people or more, spend 14% of their time collaborating virtually. That’s about to change. Working from home demands a new workstyle and tempo — one that balances the need to serve your clients, collaborate with teams virtually, stay connected to colleagues, and carve out time for focused individual work. Parents have the added pressure of trying to work with kids who are home from school or daycare, which may result in extended or irregular hours to artfully balance responsibilities.
Location Matters: Find a place where you can easily work at home, especially for intensely focused work. Ideally, your new workplace is an area that can remain set-up for the duration of your WFH period (or at least for most of the workday so you don’t have to constantly breakdown and setup). Some of you are lucky to have a home office or studio which can be a dedicated workspace. Others may need to get more creative and work in a variety of spaces around your home. Don’t feel like you need to find a totally private workspace. Gensler’s U.S. Workplace Survey 2020 found employees perform best in open office environments that also offer ample private spaces to work on individual activities or meet with smaller teams as needed. Likewise, workspaces that are more open can be effective at home, too. You can work in an open space for most of the day, and keep an eye on the kids, for instance, but it’s also ideal to have the option to go into a private room and close the door for an important virtual meeting or to create distance between other family members or roommates who are sharing the same space.
Ergonomic Furniture Makes an Impact: In Gensler’s workplace research, we know that people are the most effective with a worksurface and seating at the right ergonomic height. This doesn’t have to be a standard desk and chair — select from whatever already exists at home. I sit on a stool at a standing height table so I can change from sitting to standing throughout the day. In addition to your laptop, a second monitor is ideal, but many people can also re-purpose their TV as a large monitor as well. Be creative with setting up your work from home hacks but pick a place that signals to the rest of the family, this is where I work and shouldn’t be too interrupted.
Manage Noise: Throughout the day, most people toggle between working alone and needing to collaborate. Select a place where you can also talk on the phone or virtually collaborate without having to interrupt your family or roommate. Research has shown that overhearing a one-way phone call can be more disruptive than overhearing a two-way conversation. Researchers say overhearing a conversation triggers an involuntary “need-to-listen” effect that’s increased when a listener can only hear one side of the conversation, as with cellphones, making it difficult to follow and very distracting. Keep this in mind if you are sharing the same room as your spouse or loved one and use a headset when joining virtual meetings. Plan in advance for noise management at home to avoid disruption (for example, don’t sit by your window on the mornings of garbage pickup).