Having been the new normal for nearly three years now, the honeymoon period of working from home – the pyjama-clad meetings, the long lunches – is over for many, and the challenges inherent to working from home have been well-documented. Of course, remote working is an extremely viable and valuable way to work when it is done right – and successful WFH practices means taking care of one’s wellness.

The Problem with Working from Home

Thanks to modern technologies like cloud computing, video conferencing, and project management solutions, businesses have been able to go fully remote. An example of this is TechQuarters, an IT support provider London-based companies have been working with since 2010, and have been fully remote since 2020. We spoke with them about their experiences supporting their staff remotely. They stated that the problem with working from home, in the simplest terms, is that it can quickly erode the boundaries between one’s professional and personal lives. People spend more time working, take fewer breaks, and their work can invade their home environment.

So, how can one improve their experience of working from home, improving their wellness, and getting more satisfaction from their job and their free time?

Pillars of Working from Home Wellness

The success of working from home is not random, it requires support from one’s employer, and adherence to good professional practices. According to TechQuarters, who are a well-known and trusted provider of Outsourced IT support London solutions, they stated that these are the pillars of a good work-from-home practice that supports wellness:

• 1)Work-Life Balance

The boundaries and routines that one maintains while working from home is critical to a good work life balance. Firstly, look at your routine – you should have set times when you start work, and finish work. Try to avoid answering businesses outside of work hours – this will help you maintain those work-life boundaries. Another important factor is your workspace – try to keep it as separated from your personal space as possible. If you have a separate office, use that – or else, try to keep your workspace empty and your work items tidied away when you’re not working.

• 2)Workspace Optimization

The way that one’s workspace is laid out and organised can have a huge effect on their productivity and mental state. When working in an office, you are around other people, and the social aspect can be enough to prompt people to keep their desk and workspace tidy. At home, however, there is less of a social stigma around being untidy, which can lead to people having untidy workspaces. Making an effort to keep your desk and home office clean and tidy can make a huge difference.

• 3)Exercise and Fitness

Working in the office means that employees are not totally sedentary throughout their day – because they will at least have the commute where they can get some physical movement in. However, working from home has led to some people going from bed to desk, then from desk to sofa, meaning their entire day is spend sitting and lying down. Fitting in some physical activity can greatly improve one’s quality of life when working from home. It could be as easy as taking a walk at lunch, before or after work, or during an afternoon great. Some might also like to perform some simple calisthenics exercises at home throughout the day.

• 4)Heathy Work Practices

When we spoke to TechQuarters – whose experience providing IT support Central London businesses have been relying on for 12 years means that they are well-versed in good practices for work – they said that the first step to good work practices is ensuring you have a good work setup; look at your desk and chair, and make sure the setup is as ergonomic as possible. TechQuarters also mentioned that taking regular short breaks can actually be better for productivity than staying at your desk all day.