Counteract sitting at a desk all day
Use a proper desk and chair. The most suitable chair for you can be a “Task chair”. A task chair is specialized for work. The benefits of this kind of chair are:
- Promotes good posture
- Promotes productivity
- It’s highly adjustable for different kinds of body
The proper desk for you is the one that lets your elbows make 90 degrees with your arms. Try to keep out the irrelevant things from your desk and reduce the decorations.
Try waking up at a specific time. Wear official outfits so that your mind figures out it’s time to work.
Working in the bed while lying down makes us sleep; working in pajamas might do the same. Try using a device whose keyboard and screen are apart, so you won’t have to bend your back and neck. Place the keyboard in a proper place in which your hands feel comfortable. Bend your elbows and knees at 90 degrees. You can locate a cushion behind so that you will feel more relaxed.
Eyestrain
Make an effort not to stare a long time at the screen. To do that, you can use the 20-20-20 rule. This way, after gazing 20 minutes at the screen, you should look 20 feet away and stare at the subject for 20 seconds.
Extensions like Screen Shader could also help you to adjust your monitor’s light. So you will have less eye strain.
You can use a footrest at the bottom of your feet to support them. If you cannot buy one, you can use a high cushion or a short stool. Discomfort can be a massive distraction for work. Use a footrest, in addition to a better posture. You will reduce the exhaustion, and you won’t get accustomed to putting your foot around the other, which in the long term causes varicose veins.
Try locating all the stuff you need in your accessibility so that you won’t get distracted from the job.
Take breaks
Try to stretch your neck, arms, and legs every 40 mins especially if you are remote working for a long time. Dehydration could lead to serious problems.
Try to drink water and eat nutrients that increase your brains’ function. For instance:
- Oily fish
- Dark chocolate
- Berries
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Whole grains
- Coffee
- Avocados
- Peanuts
Don’t forget to live life. In your beak times, try playing with your children and having chats with people. It could increase your productivity. You can exercise, listen to music, watch short movies and generally do your hobbies during the day. Communicating helps you overcome tiredness as well.
Take security more seriously
There are always confidential pieces of information that you should not share with anybody while remote working. So, do not place your computer in front of a window.
Close (or lock) the door as you leave the room for any reason. Use high-security passwords for your device. Low passwords may increase the opportunity to get discovered, and it will endanger your confidential information.
If anything unusual is happening on your computer, contact your manager immediately. For more security, try to avoid clicking on the anonymous links. Before calling your colleagues for job matters, make sure no one hears you. You can close the window as long as you speak on the phone.
Care about your privacy
On the other hand, make sure there is nothing personal around you during the video call so that your boss or other colleagues can see it. If you are working with your personal computer under your manager’s permission, install antivirus and up-to-date windows.
I recommend you don’t use it for individual tasks. If something happens to your device, all your information will be lost. The second reason is that your acquaintances may send you messages at the time of work and disturb you.
Discuss things for remote work
If you are remote working, you should discuss the situation with your manager. Ask him/her what time you can stop working. In case of floating work time, work during the quiet time. If you face critical issues at home, it’s better for you to talk with your manager, so there will be a mutual understanding.
Talk to your family
Talk about your work condition with your partner and children. Make them understand that you cannot play or spend time with them during work hours. If that didn’t work for any reason, hang a “Do not disturb” sign on the door.
You can also lock the door if necessary. In the meantime, you can plan an hour to spend with your family. If there are pets in your house, prevent them from coming inside your room. In case of noise pollution, you can use headphones or earplugs to concentrate on your job at remote working.
Pandemic issues
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, research indicates that remote working increases job satisfaction in employees and develops their abilities, reducing exhaustion and stress. However, the condition differed since some employees chose to work that way. Some others were obliged to due to their circumstances.
It is worth mentioning that teleworking has always had issues, including social isolation, lack of sharing information, and inability to divide personal tasks. Once disturbed by the house’s condition, the employee has to spend much more time working, which causes Burnout (Exhaustion from working a long time). Remote working prevents the colleagues from interacting.
The pandemic has made us all stay and work at home. Undoubtedly some people can not cope with this situation and find it awkward, or can not concentrate on their job at home because of the household’s condition.
How to communicate with your colleagues while working remotely?
Since you are working remotely, one of the best routes to stay in touch with your colleagues is to send messages in the selected app. Feel free to text or call them during work time. Some people do not feel relaxed staying in touch with remote co-workers.
The only difference the remote working makes is the distance. The employee should be accessible during work time, and it is your right to stay in touch with them for important tasks. Try to avoid messages at night or during break time because you will bother them.
In case you are the head of the team, try considering a time for your employees to live. If it’s a crucial matter, you can write it down and tell them the day after. Only for urgent issues, let yourself communicate with them.
Is your job suitable?
Remote working requires discipline, perseverance, and innovation. Try to find an occupation that suits you the best and does not tire you at home, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. After choosing the right job, try to prioritize the critical tasks, and if the time of your work is over, live the rest for tomorrow. Remember, nothing is more vital than your health.
Let’s sum up…
Despite the negative opinions about working remotely, you can easily do it. You can increase your productivity through remote working by following the mentioned tips in the article. Now you can do a flexible job and save the time you used to waste on subway or traffic jams.
Wherever you are working, try to make your health the number one priority. If you need any help with it, Southern Nevada Occupational Health Center is at your service.
We offer a variety of tests and examinations to workers and employers under OSHA standards. The purpose of these examinations is to prevent and diagnose imminent work-related injuries.
For more information about the services of this center, you can refer to the menu at the top of the page or schedule an online appointment.
