Advice for starting a mostly home-based role for the first time

[Cantheowneroftheredcorsapleasemovetheircar]

Hi all,

I was offered a new job at the beginning of September. It's a huge change for me as I currently work just two days a week in an office and I am jumping 4 pay grades, will be full time and for the first time ever, will be WFH. It's hybrid but will be four days at home and 1 in the office.

I've never worked at home before and I of course completely understand everyone's workplace is different, but what do you find it to be like?

Is it generally expected you can do things like answer the door, maybe even a little light housework?

What advice would you give to someone who hasn't done it before? How should I set up my workspace? I'm being given a laptop, monitor, phone and headset but I don't really have an area to put everything yet, I was thinking maybe just my dining table and then pack away each night.

Really just any tips appreciated as it's just dawned on me how much my life is actually going to change, which is both exciting and daunting.

I start 2nd November 😬

Congratulations on your new job. Very similar here. Never wfh before. Currently do part time office. Offered a new full time role 4 days wfh and 1 in office. I’ve bought a corner desk for the living room, which matches the current furniture and will fit the two screens and laptop. I’ve finally got a dressing table too and no doubt will need to work upstairs during school holidays due to confidential nature of my work. I plan to do exactly as I would in the office. Be strict with work, lunch time, not having family think I’m available. I have been given a significant increase in salary which relies on trusting me to get the job done. I won’t be doing housework, otherwise family members will think that’s my job seeing as I’m home.

All of the above advice and….
Use the upstairs toilet! It’s very easy to become very sedentary when WFH, so build on some stairs. I also put a kettle upstairs. I try and go for a walk before o start work too.

WFH for me. I did get into a state where I didn’t make tea, have breaks as I was so busy. Then my boss said, have breaks, make tea. Walk around like you would in the office. So I did that. On slow days I’d even get my nails/hair done but bring work phone into the salon so I could do eg diary work and emails there. I mentioned that to my manager and she said as long as the work got done she was fine with that. Plus I often started work early, finished late and sometimes worked through lunch. So I definitely made up the time.

Agree with pp, desk space is essential. I used my box room.

I do answer the door. Im also based in a position whereby I can wave to post ppl and do get them to pass post through the window on occasion.

Agree a decent chair is a good idea and making sure you're ergonomically set up, with a footstool if you need it. And agree, good to move around. I used to walk every lunchtime when in an office (mainly due to lack of a dedicated eating space) but am bad at doing that at home.

I have an office at home but do pack up at the end of the day as the monitor is in the way of stuff. It takes 5 mins and is nothing compared with the time taken commuting.

I work from home full time and have done so before for over a decade - before Covid made it the standard.

Make sure you have a dedicated space preferably with a door that can close. It’s important for calls. You don’t want other people in your home walking in or by and looking into your screen or worse walking by half dressed. If you live alone then your space at the table could work but it will be uncomfortable and not very ergonomic in the long run. You need a desk and chair suitable for office work. You’ll also want a foot rest and an ergonomic wrist rest and mouse pad.

If you live with a partner or kids they need to understand that you’re working and you’re not available. That the job is the priority during the day.

Before I met my husband I had a partner who did not understand this and he thought I was just sitting in front of my laptop all day chatting with random strangers. I nearly got fired because he would come up and stand behind me and make comments. When Covid hit it got really bad and I experienced domestic violence because of it. This is the extreme but his jealousy became unhinged. Please make sure you’re safe because it can seem like a golden opportunity for abusers.

My day looks like this:

8am wake up / shower/ get dressed. I’m not a heavy makeup person and I tend to slick my hair back with a bit of mascara and lippy.

8:30 - I log in and do my emails etc.

9am my meetings tend to start.

I take 30 minutes for lunch - which is usually soup, sandwich type. If my husband is home I’ll also make him what I’m having, but my priority is to eat and get back to work.

If I have 10 minutes or so between meetings I will put a load of laundry on or swap washing around. I do answer the door if it’s a parcel delivery. No issues. I don’t have time during the day to clean the house though. I’m usually in calls until 6pm.

My line manager is amazing and if something happens to here I need to step out for more than a couple minutes or rearrange my meetings due to a family emergency I do have this flexibility.

My favourite thing about working from home is living in leggings and slippers. People only see me from the shoulders up so I’m always comfortable .

I second the boundaries with family - my mother-in-law thought since I was home I was available and they would drop by unannounced at all hours during my work day. My friends also work from home so I haven’t had any issues there.

Get a proper adjustable comfortable office chair. Using a dining chair or similar will ruin your back. Make sure you get out for a short walk during the day or you’ll opened all day at home.

I’d start just using the laptop screen and see how that goes. I find mine is big enough. Easier to pack away. I screened off a little bit of hallway (tiny house but randomly big hall) for a desk area and it does help having a zone that I go to for work so maybe work from the dining room and set up in the lounge after Christmas.

Id start off just working with tea, coffee and loo breaks. I’d also try and take your full lunch at a set time, I find it too easy to work straight through and then end up starving/square eyed from no break. I’ve found a happy medium where I’ll do the odd 5 min jobs like stick a wash on or whack something in the slow cooker (maybe up to 3 a day) but not 20 min jobs like washing up or hoovering. But at first I was just glued to my desk!

DP WFH. We’ve a dedicated self-contained office at our property for this. Office space has been renovated recently with ICT moved to our living area throughout the period of works. I know this sounds crazy but the clutter of this is impacting family life - feels like lockdown all over again & my mental health didn’t cope very well with that. If you can have a dedicated area for working from, I would recommend this. Even better, if it’s an area you can close the door to at the end of your working day.

I WFH, yeah I can do things like answer the door, make a quick cuppa between tasks. But I’m at my desk working… so no to housework. I’m not customer facing and nobody is monitoring me, but I treat working like work. X

Also, I just use a laptop screen but when I go into office 1 day a week I have 2 screens but I dont have that set up at home

Use your 1 day a week in the office to get to know people. I started a new job and for the first 6 months worked entirely from home and it did affect my ability to integrate.

When WFH, don't get into the habit of rolling out of bed 10 minutes before you start (doesn't sound like you can do this anyway as you have kids!). Set your alarm, get up and do what you usually would, get dressed, spend the time you would have commuting doing something constructive e.g. do your meal prep before work.

Go outside every day and get some fresh air, whether that's before you start or during lunch.

Fine to take 5 minute breaks from your desk to move around and give your eyes a break from the screen as you would in office. You can't sit in the same spot for hours.

Make sure you have an ergonomic set-up (your employer should complete a DSE assessment to support you with this.)

As others have said you'll get a feel for what's culturally acceptable in terms of what others do. For example I would use a 5 minute comfort break to put the dishwasher on but wouldn't disappear for 20 minutes to clean my bathroom.

Create yourself a dedicated working space and leave it set up, don’t try to do a temporary/daily thing.

Don't plan to do any non work stuff in work hours, behave as if you are the office, dress appropriately (at least the bits of you that will be on camera for meetings)

if you will be in online meetings make sure your background is appropriate, your lighting is ok and that you will not be distracted or disturbed.

Get a decent office chair, your lower back will thank you for it!

I would also get a standalone keyboard & mouse as I don’t like using a laptop keyboard but that is a personal preference.

When you have been in the role a couple of months you will know what your work pattern is so you will know when you have a few minutes to put some washing on etc but you should never assume that because you are at home you can do domestic things.