The 8 Biggest Mistakes Employees Make When Working from Home
These common problems people experience when working from home predate the COVID-19 crisis, but as more of us are having to adapt to working from home, they're becoming more visible.
Many of them come down to working in unsuitable spaces. This can have a significant negative impact on our productivity.
We have to understand the person and their workplace as a whole unit in order to consider the necessary aspects of a workspace that generate a positive impact on performance, productivity and well-being. Space is essential and affects our performance, behaviour and health.
These are the main 8 mistakes that we see repeatedly with people working from home. With the right support, these problems can easily be solved, improving productivity, work-life balance, and overall well-being.
1- Lack of dedicated work space
Ignoring the importance of having a space dedicated to work is detrimental to productivity and health.
Often, a work space is chosen at random, without reflecting on the conditions that best suit individual needs and the requirements of the tasks to be performed, along with an understanding of the space available.
Place and space are essential. They have a critical effect on concentration, productivity and health. Therefore, it is necessary to know and understand your needs when establishing an adequate work space in your home. Chances are very good that the dining room table is not sufficient to meet those needs.
2 - Poorly structured workplaces
A small workspace, poor screen placement, an unsupportive chair, insufficient space to perform the necessary tasks all have a negative influence on your work performance and health.
Your environment has a significant influence on cognition, emotions and behaviour, affecting decision-making, concentration and relationships with others. By taking some care to set it up to work well for you, you'll be setting yourself up for success.
3 - Inadequate lighting
Poor lighting, whether it's artificial or natural, can cause eye strain, fatigue, headaches, and stress. Insufficient light is a common cause of eye strain. Excess light causes headaches and stress, both of which can lead to errors at work, low productivity and physical discomfort.
4 - Noise
Noise affects mood, productivity and concentration. At the office, most of us have learned to ignore noises from our equipment, such as phones and printers. When working from home, we have new noises, such as the washing machine, air conditioning and other equipment, and the noises of others in the home. You may not realize that the higher decibel level is affecting you, but it does have an impact. Reduce extraneous noises when possible.
5 - Communication Hinderances
Most communication is non-verbal. When we hold our meetings by video conference, we have to take some extra steps to ensure that we can communicate well. Don't neglect the lighting, which often partially hides your face, affecting how well you can communicate. Your work space also sends a message. Before a video call, check your background. If it's a mess, it will distract from the professional image you want to present.
6 - Insufficent ergonomic support
According to the World Health Organization, 80% of the world's population suffers from musculoskeletal pain.
In a May 13, 2020 article titled "Working From Home Is Taking a Toll on Our Backs and Necks" the Wall Street Journal showed the importance of ensuring that you have proper ergonomic support. Many people are working from a couch or bed, ignoring all the health and productivity consequences. In the short term, these problems translate into muscle-skeletal pain, and later on, may require you to use a lot of sick leave just to deal with the consequences of preventable strain and injuries.
7 - Imbalance between work and private life
Maintaining a healthy balance between work and private life is always important, and it requires extra attention when working from home. The lines can easily become blurred: answering a few more emails or finishing that project late at night, or allowing home interruptions to disrupt the workday.
Space plays a role in forming and maintaining the connections of places and their identity. If you don't designate an exclusive work space, it affects the transition to "work mode" and the way in which boundaries are set with other people at home, such as partners, children or flatmates, and it makes it harder to “go home” at the end of the day.
8 - Excessive company control over a home workspace
In Germany and other European countries, the employer is responsible for providing a suitable workspace for its remote employee. They can send a specialist to supervise the preparation of such a space. Many employes strongly object to this, feeling observed and violated by the company they work for when they open their doors. In addition to being their workplace (temporary or permanent), their home is a private space that they do not want to show.
This position is understandable, but it can also harm their work performance by ignoring rules and recommendations when adapting part of their home as a workplace.
A company can provide workers with the right tools and knowledge to establish their workspace, without being overly intrusive. Both the employee and the company can benefit from this approach.
It is time to follow effective practices to enhance work performance, health and trust between workers and the company. At Space your Place® we design and integrate Teleworking solutions for businesses. We provide easy, useful and practical tools that are accessible to everyone so that they can set up their home office to be a healthy, productive and pleasant space.
Following the "Human-centered design" approach, we conceive the person and their work space as a symbiotic relationship, creating a positive impact on performance, productivity and well-being.
Do you want to know more? Let's talk about it.