Ergonomics

At offices we have may have ergonomic chairs and adjustable desks and social life, but often that is not the case when working from home. The living room couch is nice and cosy place to laze out, but it is undisputed fact that if it would be ergonomically the best place we would have couches all over the place at the offices 😄

If your shoulders are sore and tight, you have unergonomic posture. Kitchen table isn’t best either, even though you are sitting quite upright. If you have grannies old drawer you could use that for standing work, like reading emails, putting down work hours etc.

So here’s what you need to take care of:

• Check your work desk so that keyboard and mouse are besides each other in the same level
• Chair is adjusted tho the height that your elbows are on 90° angle, shoulders relaxed while hands lies on the desk and feet firmly on the floor
• Back of the chair height (if possible) and distance adjusted so that it supports your back well. If you have arm rests adjust them so that the forearm is supported.
• You display should be about 25° in a downward position
• Keep you coffee mug near you, so you don’t need to stretch for it 😄☕️
• General lightning should a bit dimmer and spotlight to your work desk brighter. You can adjust bright daylight also with window blinds

https://insights.dice.com/2019/12/26/workstation-ergonomics-developers/

Enough breaks

Getting into the flow while working feels productive and nice. But it is important to keep enough breaks during the day. Walk around the house (inside or outside) frequently enough. You should do this also at the office ☝🏻. Schedule your coffee breaks for morning and afternoon.

Take your broom behind your front door or floor mop from your cleaning closet and use it to exercise your shoulders and back. This way you get your blood circulating again and avoid head- and backaches.

Daily routines / discipline

Start your work day at the same time every day, just like you would arrive to the office. Remember also to end your day! Close your computer when 7,5h is full. Have some time to yourself and your family.

Have a lunch brake every day at the same time. Do not eat by the computer. Have yourself a break for the lunch.

Social contacts are important. Take advantage e.g. of your project daily for social hellos with your peers. Arrange virtual coffee moments with your team to discuss this and that.

Take a “walk” to your work. Before starting to work go for a 10 minute walk to start fresh in the morning. And do the same thing at afternoon. You will have fresh air and clear your mind before having your spare time.

Sufficient ventilation

Our brains need oxygen. Make sure your ventilation at your house is in good level. If you can adjust it, you could power it up a bit, now that there are others in the house during the day.

You can also just ventilate your apartment by keeping your windows open for 5 minutes from different sides of the building. This changes the air effectively and does not yet cool down the house structures (yes even in the coldest times here in Finland), and thus does not increase any warming expenses. Do this in the morning and afternoon. (of course if you have people in fewer, please don’t keep them in direct draft).

I’m not home alone

Now that we have our family members at home also agree on some rules, have your own playbook. Agree who is working where and where can you spread your work related stuff that others are not to touch. Where and how do you handle phone calls without disturbing others.

And do remember the security and confidentiality. Work as much according to your company, or customer set, quality plan as possible. Daddy or mommy may be working on some cool stuff, but hope they are not spread by our family members.

Kids at home

As we know kids are fueled by attention, and sugar. Don’t overdose them with sugar or your work day will be screwed 😅.

Give some attention to your kids every now and then. Have a 15 minutes together to read aloud, discuss about things or play around. This will boost your kids so much and they are able to do things on their own for longer time and leave you time to do work.

New set of Lego, crayons or even scale model to build get them occupied for a while and away from the Netflix. You could also agree on common study time, kids to their school things ad you work. Maybe together if possible.

The situation is new and can be stressful for kids as well. They react to stress in different ways. They can feel anxiety, grab into parents more, be angry or overly nice. Youngers can wet their beds at night as well. These symptoms can be normal at situations like we are living at the moment.

Stay calm to be supportive for your kids. Be warm and understanding. Listen to their worries and be there for them. Try to arrange even more time with your kinds than normally.

Take care of yourself

Eat healthy, sleep well. Exercise at home and go out to the woods.

Keep your family members and friends close via phone and internet. Let’s take good care of our elderly, ask how they are doing, do they have anybody to go to the store. Get your kids to play e.g. battleships game over WhatsApp video call.

It is normal to feel sad, confused, afraid or angry in these exceptional times. Talk to your feelings to people you trust, your spouse, friends or even your superior and People team. You are not alone.

Don’t use tobacco, alcohol or drugs as stress relief. Stay away from drinkin a beer every night. It’s not good when working at office, it is definitely not good for working from home. Go out instead.

Keep your hands clean. Wash your hands every time you come to your “office”, before you eat and when you come indoors.