WFH what do I need to know.....

[Oncewassmith]

I've just secured a WFH job for the first time! What things do I need to consider, workspace wise? Do I need to get an emergency Internet backup option etc?
What else do I need to plan/sort before starting?
Any tips and hints needed

Congrats on your new job! Check what the company provide. If just a laptop, then you'll want to get a monitor and keyboard so that you can sit properly and have a dual screen.
Check working patterns so that you know when you need to be online and contactable and when you can have breaks. Get out the house daily and take up every opportunity to meet colleagues in real life even if only once a month.

A decent chair, which your work should provide, don't try to use any kind of non-office chair as you'll be uncomfortable soon.

Your workplace should have a plan for how to work with no connectivity. As a short term solution you can set up a hotspot on a mobile phone if you have a decent 4G or 5g signal.

Agree with getting out of the house daily, get up and move regularly, even see if a sitting to standing desk would work for you. If your work don't hold regular meet ups then maybe investigate if they can be arranged.

Congratulations! Make sure you have a suitable desk and supportive chair set up. Naively I thought the very first lockdown would be a short term thing and spent too long at the kitchen table with my laptop. Not good for my back! Completely agree with the pp mentioning getting out of the house daily, even if it’s just a 30 min walk.

DH and I both wfh a lot and have never needed an emergency internet connection, I guess we could Hotspot off our phones if required. Make sure you have a good connection that will support video calls well if you will be keeping in touch with colleagues that way though.

Buy comfy, warm clothes to work in - leggings, hoodies, sweatshirts, cosy socks. Have nice things on your desk - hand cream, oil diffuser. Your workspace should feel nice and welcoming.

Ah congrats!

As PP said, what equipment does your company provide? Do you need extra monitors? I find a properly adjustable chair with good lumbar support invaluable (expensive, but worth it to sit on for 8+ hours a day!), a good footrest for posture under the desk and a laptop / screen raiser too. A good mouse mat (with a wrist support!) and keyboard support also really helped I found.

I'm a sucker for organising, so I have pen pots and desk tidies to keep my space clear. I use the cable tidy wire hiders to keep the cables in control and command strips to run these around the underside of my desk so there's no trailing wires.

Make sure you have a workspace that is clear and clutter free, get everything you need in easy access (pens / paper / notepads / headphones for calls etc) and try to make sure you're in a distraction free area. Give yourself hard stop times in your day, take five minutes to get a cup of tea or drink, walk about a bit and get your eyes away from the screen - you'd do this in a regular office, so do it at home! If you can try to be near natural light, it's a definite mood improver.

Don't chain yourself to your desk - make sure you take your allotted breaks and try to get out of the house every day. A good internet connection is a must!

Find out if you're allowed to work outside of the house (sadly I'm not!) but a coffee shop morning each week can break up your routine. Make scheduled time to catch up with Co workers, we have weekly team meetings just to grab a coffee and chat on video Skype - helps keep a good team environment for us!

I'm sure there's much more, but this is what I think of immediately 😊

Make use of the fact you can cook a nutritious meal at home for lunch. I always hated work kitchens or canteens so ended up eating rubbish for lunch that required little preparation... now that I work from home I tend to eat much more fruit and veg!

If you print check that you can claim cartridges on expenses.

Headset so that other people in the house can't listen in to meetings and calls.

And as others have said... Full sized monitor and a proper office chair.

To keep warm without going broke I use a sleeping bag and hot water bottle.

A knit dress to pull over your pjs when you get a camera on person calling.

If you have video calls:

Oh no my message got deleted 😬

if you have video calls: have a clean, professional background not your unmade bed for example. Or use a filter.

if you have young children, have childcare at all times. You can’t do your job and look after your toddler.

check with your company if there are allowances for furniture, monitors, headsets etc. my company gives WFH employees an allowance towards this.

Electric throw or hot water bottle on your lap to save heating the whole house.

Make sure you have a lunch break, somewhere different even if it’s just the lounge!

Plan face to face social time at the weekends to balance the isolation.

Oh congrats! As others have said, a proper chair is absolutely essential. Be utterly ruthless from the outset with friends or family who want to pop in or ask for favours because you are at home. Don't attempt to WFH with small children, it doesn't work. Make sure you get some outside time every day - a lunchtime walk really perks you up.

Check your house insurance as if you don't advise them of a material change it could be invalid.
Try working in a few different areas to see what works light, sound, heatwise etc.
Ask them for their flexible working policy and check where you are allowed to work, are they allowed to access your phone in case if a data breach, what notice fo they give you to come and do pat testing/set your desk configuration, camera on requirememts etc.
Try to book meetings for 50 minutes to allow 10 minutes for note writing/toilet breaks otherwise you get stuck not being able to go to the toilet for hours on end.
Try and walk at break if you can.
Congratulations on the job

I've been wfh now for years, I have a desk in the living room, but I've realised I work much better if I'm in a corner facing a wall but have a window on my side. The reason is that if I can 'see' the house then I'm distracted by things that need doing in it, but having my back to it all means out of sight, out of mind. My eye breaks are spent looking out the window and not at any mess.
A monitor and good chair are a must. I bought myself a cheap desk too. As soon as my working day is done, the laptop is off and closed. I never go near my desk until the next day. it's not used for anything else and is clutter free.

Make sure you go out of the house, this is my biggest issue and sometimes don't leave the house for days. Not good for anyone.
Have a proper lunch break too and take coffee breaks. I found that I wasn't having any wfh, but in the office they were part of the day, you are not expected to work solidly without any stops.
Finally, get dressed every day, I have a home office 'uniform' now of warm fleecy black joggers and a several very warm & video call friendly tops. Don't work in your PJs on the sofa!

If you need to buy a deal consider a standing one and take the odd call standing.

Congratulations on the new job OP!
I've been WFH since the summer and came to the thread for tips specifically on keeping warm without heating the whole room/house, a sleeping bag is genius @Unescorted thanks for sharing!

If you have the space, a work station set up somewhere where you're able to shut the door on it at the end of the day can be very helpful for that work/home distinction. We all work remotely and have people with work stations in spare rooms, conservatories, summer houses, garages, even large cupboards under stairs!

Invest in a decent pair of slippers, I went through about 3 Christmas gift types a year which is so wasteful, but my decent pair are a year in and look good and keep my feet warm.

I work from home for the vast majority of the time, and am fortunate that we have a dedicated office at home, which helps enormously. I shut the door at the end of the day and that "distance" between work and home really helps.

Make sure your workspace is set up properly as PP's have said, laptop riser, proper keyboard, additional monitor, wrist support. A headset is essential.

Keep warm, and active! Plan breaks into your diary, just 15 minutes or so a couple of times a day as well as a lunch break will really help.

I love the balance I have now, I can get so much more work done, because I'm not faced with as many distractions as I would be in the office. I'm less stressed, because I'm doing little bits of housework during breaks, and it doesn't feel overwhelming when I finish work.

Plus....no one pinches your pens! apart from your children

The things I have found really helpful wfh;

Have a work station - I have a standing desk and an office desk chair. I have a repurposed chest of drawers that I use to store everything in your avoid clutter.

Not workspace specific, but I found I needed a clean and tidy house to be able to concentrate effectively so I got into the habit of getting up early and putting a wash out and sorting the kitchen etc whilst kids were having breakfast. I also find the school run (at least the walk back) helps like a commute from the transition to work mode!

Thank you so much for all the advice, I'm so excited as its a total change of direction!
Lots of helpful advice 👍