In recent years, especially since Covid19, teleworking has become increasingly important in our daily lives.
Whether occasional or regular, teleworking requires special arrangements at home . Otherwise, you risk suffering from physical pain, mental and visual fatigue, as well as a decline in your cognitive abilities and productivity.
In this article, find all our tips for setting up your teleworking station at home to improve your well-being and performance.
The importance of an office space for teleworking
Whether you are self-employed or an employee, properly setting up your office space for teleworking is essential for your well-being, concentration and productivity.
Working long hours in front of a screen while sitting puts a strain on your physical and mental health.
While working from home is a reality for many of us, we're not all equally equipped to work in good conditions . Indeed, sitting at a corner of a desk is far from ideal. Poor setups can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, eye strain, distractions, and decreased cognitive abilities.
On the contrary, a well-designed, ergonomic and functional workspace helps prevent pain and fatigue , compartmentalize professional and personal life , and also optimize your performance and motivation .
12 tips for setting up an office for teleworking
Unlike traditional offices within companies, employees' homes are not designed to become workspaces, which poses a number of problems :
- Space configuration: Not all remote workers have enough space at home to dedicate a room to their office.
- Distractions: When working from home, conditions aren't always optimal. Whether you live with a shared apartment or with family, it's not easy to avoid distractions and separate your personal and professional lives.
- Lack of equipment: Teleworking requires suitable work equipment, which few people have at home. Some investment is often required.
Here are our 12 tips to help you set up your office for teleworking to ensure your physical and emotional comfort:
1. Choose the right location
Before investing in furniture and accessories, you need to choose the right location to set up your teleworking space .
While the ideal is to set up your office in a dedicated room , not everyone has the opportunity to do so. However, the choice of room is not trivial. If you don't have a dedicated room for your workspace, the living room or bedroom are good alternatives.
In any case, choose a quiet, bright location, away from busy areas and distractions . The proximity of a natural light source improves the lighting and gives the illusion of a larger space.
Finally, the space you choose should be spacious enough to accommodate your work table, chair, storage, and all other necessary equipment. Spaces that are too confined can create a feeling of oppression.
2. Define your office space for teleworking
Regardless of the location, whether in a dedicated room, a bedroom, or the living room, you need to make sure you separate your work and personal life to make it easier to concentrate during and disconnect after work.
If you're short on space, you can separate your work area from your leisure area by placing your desk in an alcove, under a staircase or in a converted closet, but never near the sofa or bed.
You can also use decorative elements to create a symbolic separation such as a rug, a plant, a shelf, a screen, a curtain or movable partitions.
Painting the walls a different color from the rest of the room for the work area also helps to mentally differentiate the spaces and their functions .
3. Choose a desk that suits your interior
For your work table, choose a desk that fits the dimensions and layout of your home . While you should certainly like its design, you should prioritize practicality and comfort above all else.
Limited space? No problem, you can opt for a desk:
- Foldable or retractable,
- Compact or corner,
- Minimalist and without storage, easier to store.
The color of the desk is also important. Light colors (light wood, white) visually enlarge the space.
If you set up a dedicated room, you can use an individual desk with an extension and storage.
4. Optimize lighting
Good lighting is essential to avoid eye strain, improve concentration and mood .
Take advantage of natural light
Natural light should be favored.
Set up your home office near a window , making sure to avoid direct reflections on the screen . To do this, place the work table perpendicular to the window or use blinds and curtains to prevent glare.
Install additional lighting
Supplement natural lighting with a desk lamp , if possible one that is adjustable and dimmable , so you can work at any time of day.
The ideal room illumination is around 500 lux.
Finally, remember to adjust the brightness and contrast of your screen to ensure eye comfort. You can use a screen filter for this purpose.
5. Isolate yourself from noise and distractions
Optimize your concentration and productivity by setting up your teleworking space in a quiet, uncrowded location, isolated from distractions and high-traffic areas .
Indeed, calm promotes concentration. A minimum of isolation is necessary to avoid being disturbed during your deep work tasks and video conferences.
While it's ideal to have a dedicated room, there are some tips for those with limited space.
For example, if your desk is in the living room, place it away from the TV, sofa, and high traffic areas. If it's in the bedroom, move it away from the bed to avoid the temptation to nap.
If you're sharing a space with family or roommates, there are devices you can use to reduce noise distractions , such as noise-canceling headphones and earbuds. Rugs, wall panels, drapes, and curtains can also help muffle surrounding noise and isolate you in a more peaceful space.
6. Create an ergonomic workspace
Many remote workers aren't well equipped to work from home. However, creating an ergonomic workspace is essential for your comfort, focus, and productivity.
On the contrary, unsuitable equipment promotes MSDs (musculoskeletal disorders), physical, mental and visual fatigue, but also a drop in your performance.
Working on your couch, bed, or kitchen table doesn't promote good posture and is therefore not suitable for teleworking. You need to invest a minimum to maintain your well-being and efficiency .
Find our complete article on how to set up an ergonomic workstation .
Use a comfortable desk
The first step is to choose a comfortable desk that suits your body shape and preferences .
The selection criteria for your teleworking table are:
- The dimensions of the tray: depth (from 60 to 110 cm), width and height (between 65 and 74 cm) must be adapted to your size and offer sufficient surface area to accommodate all the necessary equipment.
- The space under the tabletop: it must allow you to maintain good posture (angles of your elbows and knees at 90°C) and to move your legs without constraint.
- The position of the screen and keyboard: the screen should be between 50 and 70 cm away from your eyes and your keyboard 10 to 15 cm from the edge of the work surface.
To prevent a sedentary lifestyle and muscle tension, you can equip yourself with a height-adjustable sit-stand desk. Discover all the benefits of standing work in this article.
Choose ergonomic seating
The second piece of equipment essential for creating an ergonomic teleworking office is your chair . Indeed, when teleworking, you spend many hours in a sitting position, without moving, which is conducive to muscle pain and tension.
So choose an ergonomic seat with multiple advantages.
Choosing the right chair for teleworking depends in particular on its lumbar support and its adjustability (height and tilt adjustment).
Your seat should allow you to place your feet flat on the floor while drawing a 90° angle with your knees.
While you can opt for a traditional ergonomic office chair with a headrest and armrests, dynamic seating , such as the Bloon ball chair, is a particularly interesting option. By encouraging continuous micro-movements, it helps combat a sedentary lifestyle and muscle tension despite prolonged sitting.
Additionally, Swiss Balls can be used for relaxation and stretching exercises during your breaks while working from home. A real space and money saver for small or medium-sized spaces!
Discover all the benefits of Bloon Active Seating in this article.
Add ergonomic accessories
Other, more optional, ergonomic equipment helps improve your comfort and productivity.
This is particularly the case:
- Monitor mounts: Adjusting the height, orientation, and tilt of your monitors helps prevent neck pain and eye strain. Your monitors should be at eye level and 50 to 70 cm apart.
- An ergonomic keyboard and mouse to prevent MSDs,
- a footrest to relieve your legs by promoting better blood circulation,
- wrist rests to prevent pain and tension in the wrists.
7. Maintain good posture
Your telework space should encourage an ergonomic posture .
While this involves setting up an ergonomic workstation, you also need to adopt the right gestures and posture when you work . To do this, make sure to maintain proper spinal alignment and keep your head straight. Your shoulders should be slightly back and your lower back arched. Your feet should be firmly planted on the floor and your forearms should rest comfortably on your teleworking desk.
Maintaining proper posture is essential to limit injuries and fatigue despite long hours of work behind your screen.
Don't hesitate to vary your sitting and standing positions to improve blood circulation, prevent a sedentary lifestyle and lower back pain.
8. Organize your space functionally
When setting up your teleworking office, think about organizing the space in a functional way .
Create clear associations between work and everyday objects to increase your productivity.
Everything you need should be within reach and organized , such as office supplies, computer equipment and ergonomic accessories... This way, you avoid unnecessary movements and gain efficiency.
9. Keep your desk tidy every day
A tidy desk helps clarify ideas, avoid distractions and stress.
To do this, you need to provide enough storage near your desk to keep your space tidy while giving you immediate access to all your work tools.
Working from home often means a smaller desk than at work. Keeping your desk tidy and clutter-free is essential for your well-being and productivity.
So adopt a daily tidying up routine after your workday.
Use smart storage
There are a multitude of clever storage solutions for teleworking stations, even those installed in small spaces.
For example, use stackable storage boxes or modules. Filing cabinets make it easier to store documents. Also, take full advantage of drawers and other storage spaces built into your desk by equipping them with drawer organizers.
Use the walls
Also consider using your walls to optimize space with shelves, hanging baskets, boxes, wall hooks, a pegboard, etc.
All of these wall storage units help maximize vertical space and declutter your desk .
Hide and organize cables
The accumulation of computer equipment multiplies the number of cables. This ultimately increases clutter and the risk of accidents.
So consider using clips, cable management and integrated socket systems to avoid tangles of wires, to organize them and to hide them as much as possible.
10. Personalize your workspace
Personalize your teleworking space to make it motivating and conducive to concentration .
You can add some decorative accessories , but keep it minimalist to avoid visual distractions and cluttering your desk.
For example, display positive quotes or messages, a few photos, or paintings on the walls. Plants and other biophilic elements also create a pleasant atmosphere while improving well-being and efficiency.
When it comes to colors, choose those that promote concentration and creativity. In fact, colors have been proven to have an impact on morale, well-being, and performance:
- Yellow: ideal for boosting creativity and intellect,
- Blue: conducive to calming,
- Purple: conducive to concentration,
- Red (a few touches): ideal for improving energy and creativity.
Create a harmonious ensemble by avoiding mixing too many colors and patterns. A touch of color can be combined with more natural and sober shades (white, gray, beige, etc.).
When choosing your teleworking furniture and equipment , comfort, ergonomics, and practicality are paramount. However, also choose them according to your tastes :
- vintage, Scandinavian or industrial office,
- Bloon ball seat with a modern and elegant design,
- original desk lamp,
- storage in natural materials,
- stylish wall accessories…
11. Allow space for breaks
Taking breaks during work hours is essential to avoid eye strain, maintain your energy, motivation, focus and productivity.
This is why you need to plan space for your breaks to disconnect, relax and stretch to relieve stress and tension .
For small spaces, the Bloon ergonomic seat is ideal, because, in addition to serving as an office chair, it allows you to perform different exercises .
12. Adapt your setup according to your working habits
If you need to adjust your teleworking station according to your height for greater comfort, you also need to adapt the setup according to your working habits .
Make sure your work environment promotes your motivation and well-being. Set up a teleworking office that suits your style and work pace: standing or sitting, using one or two screens, with or without notebooks, etc.
As your working habits may change over time, don't hesitate to regularly reassess your setup to adjust it to your material and postural needs.
FAQ: Teleworking office layout
What are some ideas for setting up a teleworking office?
To set up a teleworking office, you need to think about functionality, comfort and ergonomics.
Invest in the right furniture, such as an ergonomic desk and chair, sufficient storage units, an adjustable desk lamp, etc.
Separate spaces to maintain work-life balance and limit distractions. Plan a space for breaks.
How do I set up my office for teleworking?
Choose the right location for your home office: quiet, away from distractions, and near a window. Separate work and leisure spaces and prioritize ergonomics with suitable furniture, accessories, and storage.
How to be comfortable working from home?
Your comfort depends above all on the choice of ergonomic furniture and equipment, the adoption of good posture and the quality of the working environment (calm, bright, etc.).
Why is it necessary to regulate the implementation of teleworking so much?
Setting up a remote work office can be costly and difficult. Support can help ensure the right choices and adjustments are made to avoid injuries, physical, visual, and mental fatigue, and ensure employee productivity.
