Why
You Need Good Quality Office Furniture
This
is not an advertisment.
by Stuart Livesey
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Text OnLine
The computer
revolution has touched so many parts of our lives and changed them
forever. The impact of the personal computer on society may never
be fully documented because it seems totally impossible to identify
every individual part of our lives that it has touched.
While
there are many who would say that the impact on our lives has not
been beneficial it is becoming more and more difficult to justify
a position like that. In fact I would go so far as to suggest that
these days, with the combination of the personal computer and the
internet, such a position is untenable.
The combination
of the PC and the Internet has opened us up to the world. Now matter
where we might be on the planet, if we have a computer and a connection
to the Internet then we’re only seconds away from the rest of
the world.
One of
the outstanding benefits of all this technology has been the ability
that some many of us now have to work from home. There is no more
traffic jams, no more crowded public transport and no more long hours
of wasted time as we commute from home to the office and back again
each day.
Instead,
with the aid of modern technology, many of us can now work from the
comfort of our own home. Even if we don’t do it full-time there
are many of us who now work part-time from home and that is a plus
on many fronts.
At the
same time working from home can be full of problems and difficulties
but the key to overcoming these problems is in the way we set up our
home office.
Too many
people try to work from home via a PC that is set up in the family
room, or in the same room as the television. Many people rely on kitchen
chairs and kitchen tables as office furniture and of those who do,
many soon begin to find back problems and other postural problems
arise.
It is
very hard to produce quality work when your bottom is aching or your
back is screaming at you. And so it is extremely important that if
you are going to work from home then you do it right.
If you
plan on working from home let me offer you these suggestions.
The first
thing you will need is a separate work area located in some other
room other than where the family hangs out. A spare bedroom is ideal
and has the added benefit of a door that you can close when you walk
out at the end of the day.
Closing
the door is symbolic and lets you cut yourself off from your work.
If you don’t cut yourself off at the end of the day then you
are always going to be sneaking back to do just a little bit more.
If you
close the door on your work then you are shutting yourself off from
those temptations to do just a little bit more.
I know
people who work with their PC on a card table while they sit on a
wooden box. Neither of those are likely to induce a feeling of comfort
in anyone who has to work in those conditions.
It is
impossible to turn out quality work while you’re body is telling
you that it needs some time out while it gets stretched on the wrack.
If you
are serious about what you intend to do in your home office then be
serious about investing in furniture that is going to keep you comfortable.
Kitchen tables, dining tables, card tables and packing boxes are all
unsuitable working surfaces.
Be prepared
to invest in a proper desk or at least a table that is off the correct
height. In the last house we lived in our home office held three desks
but we could not fit them into our new home. Instead we found several
folding tables that were both sturdy and of a correct height for use
as a working surface in an office.
For a
while before we moved into our new house it was necessary for me to
use a folding chair while I worked. My back has still not forgiven
me for that week of torture. A folding chair may seem OK for an hour
or two but after that it becomes difficult to work from.
Kitchen
chairs are about the same. They are fine to eat a meal from but they
were never designed to work from and they are not much better than
a folding chair.
Be prepared
to invest in a reasonable quality office chair that swivels and has
no arms. In some discount furniture places you will find student chairs
that fit that description but be cautious. Check the padding on the
seat and if it is thin – or even non existent – don’t
be tempted by the price tag.
After
an hour of sitting on a chair like that your bottom will wish that
you had not been such a cheapskate. You just do not realise how important
physical comfort is until you spend all day sitting on the wrong seat
and a table that is not suited for home office type use.
So be
prepared to spend a little bit extra in setting up your home office.
Think of it as an investment in increasing the productivity of your
business because that is exactly what it is.
Without
that investment your ability to meet deadlines and produce quality
work will be severely impaired and you could become injured for life
if you push the limits even slightly.
Working
from home is great and I could never see myself going back to an outside
position but don’t try it until you can afford to buy office
furniture of a reasonable quality.
