Working from home without a home office / study

[Monvelo]

If you work from home and don't have a home office / study, what's your set up?

I've been mainly working from home for years, since before covid. My desk is in the living room but has been working well, as everyone is out of the house! However DH is now working from home more. He is irritating me by keep coming through behind me to get to the kitchen, when I'm on teams. I do quickly turn my camera off and he does shut the door behind him. But I'm just conscious of having my husband pottering about adjacent. It crosses a bit of a mental line for me. He is working from a fold out table upstairs, which isn't great for him.

Just switch on one of the Teams backgrounds, or blur it? Wear headphones so no one will hear him?

Change or blur your background, or go work on the table upstairs and let him use downstairs

I work at my kitchen table. I have a big storage box that I keep my laptop, keyboard, mouse and headphones in, carry it down to the kitchen to work, and store it in my wardrobe the rest of the time. Might not work for everyone but does for me!

I think that would be better for DH and would stop him coming through the living room. However I finish at 3 and get the kids, so he would have to move to a fold up table upstairs at that point. Might suggest it still though.

DH doesn't actually like the desk, he says it's too low. So even if I offered to swap, he wouldn't.

Whilst I understand it not professional to have your husband in the background I think it.is unreasonable to be annoyed he is trying to access the kitchen. You both need to look at the space and make it work for u both. Ur work area needs to be fit for purpose and comfortable.

Oh yeah I'm sure it is unreasonable! That's why I'm asking what set up others have. Looking for ideas.

I work at the dining room table. My DC are in the house but can access the kitchen without disturbing me. So I don't get any interruptions.

So why cant you just blue the background? Or put one of the filter ones up

I had an office upstairs at the back of the house for years but I never used it apart from when I had Zoom meetings, and even then I didn't get a very good signal which was an issue as I am always the host, and had to run downstairs in the middle of meetings when I lost my connection. I've worked from home for over 20 years and have always worked on the sofa with my laptop on my lap. I thought having a nice office woukd encourage me to work at a desk but it didn't 😆. Now my laptop sits on the arm of the sofa for meetings.

OP do you have any outdoor space for a garden office?

We have quite a long living room so I used a kallax unit to create a kind of wall to box off one end, then I have my desk in there. It's not a separate room but gives me a space of my own.

I find it somewhat infuriating effectively being locked out of the living room and dining room in the house.

Turn the desk around so your camera only sees the wall? Use a background so he can't be seen?

Find another place to set up the desk?

What's your set up? Do you have a large landing for a desk? Any other rooms?

I work from my sofa because we have limited space, and it's cosy and near the kitchen!

DH is now retired so is often home, but my background is blurred and my camera faces a way that means no one can walk behind me.

DH tends to stay upstairs when I'm in meetings-I feel slightly guilty but needs must etc etc.

I would recommend working out a way that you can set up your teams meetings so that these can be undisturbed. I tell DH when I have meetings booked in, on the day so he has advance warning.

In the early days of lock down there were 5 of us trying to work or study from home. I worked in the living room, on a camping table. It worked ok for a few months but I wouldn't have done it for longer than that.

I can blur the background, I don't like it because it's weird looking but I can do it. I shouldn't be looking at myself anyway should I! Sometimes I'm chairing a meeting session for 100+ people and it just distracts me someone coming through. But I think I just need to ignore. Tbh DH has the worse deal working on a fold out table.

Surprised by the sofa workers, is that comfortable?! I've got a proper chair and monitor.

I work at our dining table, back to a corner so whendhis at home I am.not in his way. Headphones for meetings and if I feel in the way I go to a very uncomfortable writing desk in our bedroom and have full blur on. But I do have the option to go into the office when I want to get out his way. I have always been conscious that its our home not my office which is why I am tucked into a corner out the way.

@Monvelo it's so much more comfortable than sitting at a desk for me. When I worked in an office full time I had terrible back pain, but because I can adjust my position easily, I am so much happier sat on my sofa!

I tend to raise my laptop by putting it on a cushion, and am careful to get up and move about between meetings.

Kids bedroom, which only works term time really. We are looking for a bigger house!

My husband and and I share an office space in half of our living room, but our desks are perpendicular to each other so neither is caught on the others' camera during meetings. Can you rotate your desk a bit?

I'd look into a large shed and setting up a garden office. That way you can close out work as well.

I ran a multi million pound company as the CEO for two years.... from my bed

From an ergonomic and practicality perspective, I'd recommend at least a laptop tray, laptop desk or similar to bring your head up and avoid balancing it on a cushion on your lap. Lots of the out there now and the price has really come down in the last few years.